Retired headmistress, 71, loses Rs 8.64 lakh in Facebook saree scam in Parli

Cases of people being cheated with the lure of cheap goods on social media are rising steadily. The latest has come from Parli in Beed district, where a retired headmistress was defrauded while trying to buy sarees cheaply on Facebook. More than Rs 8.64 lakh was taken from her.

The victim is Kalavati Balasaheb Kharbad, 71. A few days ago she saw an attractive Facebook advertisement for a collection of sarees. She called the contact number given in the advert and placed an order for two sarees for just Rs 600.

When the sarees did not reach her home even after the promised time, Kalavati called the same number to enquire. The unidentified accused told her that her parcel had got stuck. He then began asking for money in the name of GST and other legal charges.

It is alleged that, with various excuses and by gaining her trust, he got the woman to send money repeatedly online to his bank account. Over time, a total of Rs 8,64,924 reached him.

The sarees were worth only Rs 700 to Rs 800, yet around Rs 8.5 lakh was gone and the demands for money showed no sign of stopping. Only then did the headmistress realise she had been cheated. She decided to go to the police at once.

A case has been registered against the unidentified accused at Beed cyber police station. The cyber police are now investigating who the fraudster actually is, how many people he has cheated before, how he carries out the fraud and where the extorted money was sent. No arrest has been reported so far.