Woman duped of Rs 1 lakh in name of 'lucky draw'

Lucknow, Jan 20 (IANS) A woman who had saved Rs 1 lakh for her daughter's surgery, was duped by cyber fraudsters who offered her prize money in a lucky draw.

In her complaint, Shiva Sharma of sector-K of Ashiyana, Lucknow, said she got a message regarding her selection among the lucky candidates for a prize, announced by an online shopping company.

She dialled a mobile number given in the message after she opened the link on her mobile phone.

"I was asked to deposit Rs 4,200 as registration fee and I did it. The caller then told me to talk to the chief executive officer of the company and I followed the directions. The CEO congratulated me for the win and told me that the money was being sent to his bank account," the victim said.

She said she paid the money through Google Pay app.

"I transferred the money and became suspicious only when I asked him to refund the money, but he asked me to deposit more money to get back the refund," the victim said.

The complainant said that so far, she had received no help from the police and the money she had in possession was kept for the surgery of her four-year-old daughter.

SHO, Ashiyana, Ajay Prakash Mishra said that an FIR has been registered and the details have been shared with the cybercrime cell.

The case is being investigated.