Facebook Friendship Scam: 2 African Nationals Arrested For Cheating Senior Citizen Of Rs 34 Lakh

AHMEDABAD: Two African nationals were arrested on Monday for allegedly scamming an elderly woman from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, out of Rs 34 lakh by making friends with her online under fake names and asking her to pay money to get gifts and foreign currency released from Customs.

An official from the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch said that Gift Olabisi Okafor, who is from Nigeria and is 29, and Aka Gerard, who is from the Ivory Coast and is 32, were caught in New Delhi on Sunday and brought here on Monday.

He said that some other gang members who took part in the crime have not yet been caught.

ALSO READ: Woman Defrauded of Rs 13 lakh In Facebook Gifting Scam; FIR Filed in Mumbai

The incident came to light on December 23, a 63-year-old woman went to the Cyber Crime Branch and said that she had lost Rs 33.92 lakh to people she didn’t know.

According to the FIR, someone with the Facebook ID “Andres Martinez” made friends with the older woman online in September. He said he was a wealthy businessman from Scotland who wanted to marry her.

When she said no, the person kept talking to her and eventually won her trust. He then asked her for money, saying that he had been robbed at gunpoint while on a trip abroad. The FIR said he promised to give the money back after a business deal was done.

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As the scammer told him to, the complainant put nearly Rs 20 lakh into different bank accounts over the course of two months. When she asked for her money back, the accused said that he had sent her gifts, jewellery, and British Pounds in a package.

To gain her trust, a woman called the victim and said she was a customs officer in Mumbai. She asked her to pay “Customs Tax” to get the package. It said that the accused had even sent pictures and videos of a package with different things in it to try to convince the victim.

ALSO READ: Delhi Police Become Friends With Rapist Of A Minor Girl On Facebook To Arrest Him

Then, in November and December, the person put more than Rs 13 lakh into different bank accounts. The official said that when the accused started asking for more money to convert foreign currency and deposit it into her account through the Reserve Bank of India’s account, she became suspicious and went to a local bank.

He said that after the woman went to the cyber crime branch, the accused were found through their cell phone numbers and bank account information.

The accused came to India in August on visas for business and health care, the official said.

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