Ghaziabad: Ghaziabad Police have arrested a Nigerian national for allegedly duping people to the tune of several lakhs through fake websites and offering them fake prizes by asking them to deposit specific amounts in specific bank account to receive the prize money.
Police on Tuesday said that the accused has been identified as Friday, native of Lagos, Nigeria.
The accused used to lure people on the pretext of lottery schemes and gold prizes by making fake social media accounts, they added.
Discussing the modus operandi of the accused, Ghaziabad Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna told reporters that the accused used to contact his victims through fake accounts on various social websites and asked them to deposit money into bank accounts on pretext of these fake prizes and other benefits.
"The accused used to send fake prize winning letters to various people and if any of the email receivers responded agreeing to receive the prize money, he would ask them to send some money as fee and later disappear," the SSP told reporters.
"He also cheated people on pretext of start business in foreign countries and extort money from victims on various charges, such as excise, custom, registration etc," Krishna said.
He further told reporters that cops have recovered three laptops and three mobile phones from Friday's possession.
"The accused appears to be a part of a major Nigerian racket involved in illegal activities. We are questioning him about his targets and the other gang members," added Krishna.
He also asked people to keep away from lucrative offers on social media websites and appealed to the public to inform police about any such offers being made to them.