Be careful of friends of Facebook: 'American businessman' cheats Mumbai woman of Rs 12 lakh after befriending her on Facebook

Facebook may seem like a fun social network with photos of food and selfies but one can never be too careful. A Mumbai-based woman was cheated off Rs 12 lakh by ‘American businessman’ who befriended her on Facebook, reports Hindustan Times. A case has been registered with the cyber cell at the Bandra Kurla Complex. [caption id=“attachment_2496500” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The accused reportedly told her that he was caught by Customs at Delhi airport on his way to India to see her and made her deposit money in a bank account for his release, the report added. The 46-year-old woman was under the impression that the businessman was on his way to meet her and had got along ’expensive gifts’. She had met him online towards the end of October and had told her that he donate money for charity in India and asked her for help. “In all, she was made to deposit Rs 12 lakh on different pretexts, including conversion fee of foreign currency into Indian currency. To gain her trust, the accused even sent her emails with the signature of the RBI chief,” a BKC cyber police station was quoted as saying by  Hindustan Times. Cyber crime though Facebook is not uncommon in India with easy access and the ability to create a fake personality though a fake ‘profile’. In October, a Chennai woman complained against a driver working in Saudi Arabia of cheating and threatening her after the two had gotten married meeting through Facebook. She had given him her jewelry and other valuables to help him only to realise he was a married man, according to a report by The New Indian Express.  Seriously, think before you accept a Facebook request.