Retired manager loses 23 lakh to Facebook con promising 55 lakh for old coins

A retired manager in Nagpur lost 23 lakh rupees after falling for an advertisement on Facebook. The advertisement had claimed that old coins and currency notes could fetch 55 lakh rupees, and the lure proved too much for him.

The victim, Pilaji Somkuwar, 66, retired as manager from Chhattisgarh's Thermal Power Corporation Industries Limited. On August 30, while browsing Facebook, he came across an advertisement offering a large sum in exchange for old coins and notes.

Somkuwar called the mobile number given in the advertisement. He told the person on the other end that he had old coins and currency notes. The accused, without even seeing them, valued them at around 55 lakh rupees.

The fraudster then began asking for money under various pretexts, sometimes for registration, sometimes for preparing documents, and at other times for processing fees and taxes. Hoping to receive the 55 lakh rupees, Somkuwar kept sending money repeatedly. In the end, he transferred a total of around 23 lakh rupees via RTGS to different bank accounts.

As soon as the accused received the entire amount, he cut off contact with Somkuwar. Somkuwar tried calling several times but got no response. The 55 lakh rupees he had been promised, in expectation of which he had sent such a large sum, never reached his account.

It was then that Somkuwar realised he had been the victim of online fraud. He subsequently went to the cyber police station and filed a complaint. Police are now investigating the case and trying to trace the bank accounts into which the money sent by Somkuwar was transferred.

The case is a reminder of how important it is to be wary of advertisements on social media that claim to offer large sums of money in exchange for old coins, notes or rare items. It is through such advertisements that most fraudsters trap people.