A 21-year-old unemployed woman was allegedly duped of ₹2 lakh by a man claiming to be an astrologer in Karnataka’s Bengaluru, police said.
The fraudster, who introduced himself as Chandrashekhar Sugat Guruji, reportedly promised to reveal details about her marriage and help overcome supposed obstacles in her horoscope.
The victim, who lives in a paying guest accommodation in Adugodi, told police that she saw an Instagram advertisement offering ‘Kastakke Parihara’ (solutions to hardships) with a contact number. When she called, the man assured her that he could resolve issues in her horoscope if she transferred money online, according to a report by The Times of India.
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Believing his claims, the woman made multiple payments through digital apps, transferring a total of ₹2 lakh between December 5 and 16. The man allegedly began avoiding her calls when she questioned him. Adugodi police have registered a case and are investigating the matter.
In a separate news, a Bengaluru-based software professional was allegedly cheated of nearly ₹2 crore after fraudsters trapped her in what police describe as a “digital arrest” scam, forcing her to sell her flat and two residential plots to meet their demands.
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The woman, who works with a software company, was living with her 10-year-old son in a flat in Vignan Nagar in Karnataka’s Bengaluru, according to reports by NDTV, when the fraud took place in June.
She received a phone call from a man reportedly posing as a courier official. The caller claimed that a suspicious parcel linked to her Aadhaar card had been seized, following which the call was transferred to people who introduced themselves as officers of the Mumbai Police, the report by the news channels added.