Kerala Catholic priest gets duped off Rs 3.50 lakh by woman he befriended on Facebook

PTI, Sep 24, 2020, 5:36 PM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: A case of cyber fraud has been filed against three people in Bareilly of Uttar Pradesh for duping a Christian priest from Kerala of Rs 3.50 lakh, police said.

On Facebook, the priest had befriended a woman purported to be a British national and was told that he would be sent valuable gifts for which he was asked to deposit Rs 3.50 lakh as “customs duty” in a bank account belonging to one person residing in Aonla area in Bareilly, police said.

According to the complaint given to the police on Wednesday evening, the priest received a friend request from the woman on August 28 and she took his e-mail ID and mobile number during the conversation.

Claiming that she was impressed by the priest, she promised to send some valuable gifts including an iPhone, laptop and some gold ornaments, police said quoting the complainant.

The following day, the priest received a phone call with the caller identifying himself as a customs department official of New Delhi’s IGI Airport asking him to deposit Rs 3.50 lakh in a bank account.

When he did not get the parcel, the priest enquired about the bank account and was told that it was in the name of one Aqil Nabi in the State Bank of India branch in Aonla after which the priest filed the complaint with the help of his friend in Delhi, police said.

An FIR has been lodged against Aqil Nabi, the woman, and the owner of the mobile phone through which the call had been made, police said adding that investigation is on.