Karwar: Wise ones learn not just from their own mistakes, but also from the mistakes of others. Even after several episodes of online fraud being reported, a youth from Karwar lost about Rs 10 lakhs to his Facebook friend!
A civil contractor named Vinay Kumar from Karwar had befriended a foreign national, Emily Paul on Facebook. He had later got her WhatsApp number too and the two were chatting on social networking platforms. One day Emily told Vinay that she wanted to send him a gift, which includes Apple laptop, iPhone, a chain, wristwatch, perfume, Puma sportswear, greeting cards and 45,000 pound.
After a few days, Vinay Kumar got a call from the courier company stating that his gift has been withheld by the Customs and that he could pay Rs 10.94 lakhs and release the parcel. On cross-checking with Emily, she too requested him to pay the duty fee and accept the parcel. However, even after paying the amount, he could not get the gift and on realizing that he has been duped, he has registered a case with the Cyber Cell.