Pune : Man duped of Rs 35 thousand using lawyer’s fake account on Facebook

On Oct 17, 2020

Pune: Chatuhshrungi police have booked unidentified suspects on charges of duping a man of Rs 35 thousand. The victim is a friend of a lawyer whose fake account was created on Facebook social networking site and that fake account was used to send messages seeking ‘financial help’ on an urgent basis.

Advocate Vijaysinh Nikam has filed a complaint in this regard at the Chatuhshrungi police station. Accordingly, police have registered a FIR against the unknown suspects under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the complaint, the suspects created a fake account on Facebook social networking site. The fake account was in the name of Adv Nikam.

Thereafter the suspects sent friend requests to all friends of Adv Nikam. After connecting to his friends, the suspects started sending messages to all of them asking for financial help for a friend of Adv Nikam. The message also contained the bank account details where the amount was supposed to be deposited. Adv Nikam’s real friends were unaware of the fake account created in his name. Hence they believed that the message came from Adv Nikam. One of the friends of Adv Nikam transferred Rs 35 thousand in the night around 1am when he received the fraudulent message.

When Adv Nikam and his friend realized that the message was sent from the fake account, they immediately approached the Chatuhshrungi police station. Adv Nikam said citizens are being cheated by suspects who are creating fake profiles and accounts in the name of popular personalities on the social networking sites.