A Noida-based woman had a close shave with a crook who was trying to cheat her posing as an NRI suitor.
The woman got introduced to the fraudster online, when she came across his profile on a matrimonial site. The person introduced himself as “Rahul Sohan” and claimed that he was a Britain-based NRI. After few chats online and on WhatsApp, the woman found the person a suitable match.
The person proposed to the woman and the two agreed to tie the knot. The woman found the person “decent” and “well-behaved”. Giving his background, the fake NRI claimed that he was born in Assam but had long migrated to Britain, and was working with a multinational company there. He claimed that he had lost touch with his relatives after his parents' death.
Since the conversations between the two had been going on for a few months the woman, who was working with a Noida-based private company, did not suspect any foul-play. Last week, the person told the woman that he was heading to Syria on an official assignment, and, from there, he would be reaching Delhi to meet up with her.
Excited by the prospect of meeting the “suitor”, the woman decided to spend the night with a friend who was living close to the airport. Since she was told that the flight was reaching early morning on June 11, she thought this would be most convenient way of meeting the man in person.
The man did not share the flight details with the woman despite her requests. He instead embroiled her in an emotional talk, saying that she was mistrusting him. He promised to call her as soon as the “flight” would reach Delhi at 5 am. The woman waited eagerly at her friend’s house and the first call she got from the man was at 7 am. He sounded hassled and asked her urgently to transfer Rs 25,000 into a bank account, whose details he shared with her. The cheat spun a story that the customs officials had detained him at the airport, as he was carrying excess foreign currency (worth Rs 2.5 lakh) and he needed money in Indian currency to pay them off.
The woman still trusted the man, but luckily was restrained by her friend. Instead of transferring the money online, the woman offered to meet the man at the airport and hand over the cash personally. The man gave various excuses and tried to dissuade her from reaching the airport. Finally, she got suspicious and decided to check out the claims made by the person. When she reached the airport, the custom officials denied that they had detained anyone. After hearing her story, the customs officials nonchalantly told the woman that she has been duped. The woman tried contacting the man. His phone was switched off and the online ID was not connecting.
The woman did not file any police complaint, but chose to narrate the story to City Spidey to caution and educate “gullible brides who might fall for the“fake charms of NRI grooms”. The custom officials had told the woman they routinely came across such stories.
