MUMBAI: An autodialled video call on WhatsApp has exposed a fraudster. A man who had claimed to be a “senior embassy official in Washington DC” and had taken a little over Rs 2 lakh from a female doctor from Mumbai to help her procure a US visa could land in police net soon after his mobile phone, which was in his hand, automatically dialled the number of the woman.
The doctor accepted the inadvertent video call from his number on Feb 15, and what she saw stunned her. The man, who had claimed to be US resident Shailesh Parekh, was, in fact, seated in a crouching position in an auto that seemed to be moving in a place that had the hustle, bustle, look and feel of some area in Mumbai or thereabouts.
The doctor, who is with a well-known hospital and had met “Parekh” on a matrimonial portal in 2010, went straight to police, who are now on his hunt.
Although the two had been in touch for almost 15 years, exchanging ‘good morning’ messages on a regular basis, he had asked her for money over the past couple of months, after she sought his help for the visa to attend the convocation ceremony of her nephew.
Visa delay due to US govt change, conman told doctor
The complaint lodged by the woman doctor states that she had paid him just over Rs 2 lakh between Dec 2024 and Feb this y ear to procure a US visa. In Feb, the man had reportedly cited a delay in processing of the visa, citing the new political dispensation.
Police are also investigating the role of “Beena Shailesh Parekh”, who is believed to be the fraudster’s wife.
Beena had called up the doctor and claimed that she was an associate of the “em bassy official in Washington DC”. After her call, the doctor transferred Rs 1.5 lakh. The rest of the money was transferred in parts after they got talking about the visa, a cyber crime official from Juhu poli ce station said.
The fraudster who also used to send religious images to the doctor. A case of cheating has been registered against Shailesh and Beena Shailesh at Juhu police station.
META ANALYSIS: Women constitute nearly one-third of cyber-crime victims, as per NCRB statistics. They face various online offences including cyberstalking, blackmail, pornographic content, fraudulent profiles, morphed images, and financial scams involving cheating and forgery.
Several victims get deceived by fake profiles on matrimonial platforms, resulting in monetary losses. Between 2021 and November 2024, 73 people in Mumbai were duped by fraudsters posing as foreign nationals on marriage websites. The Mumbai police successfully cracked 19 such cases and apprehended 23.
