Gurugram: An Italian woman travelled to Gurugram and approached the cyber police alleging that a man she met on Instagram deceived her into sending him 1,000 euros by pretending to be romantically interested in her, a senior police officer said, PTI reported.
The woman alleged that the man had indicated that he intended to marry her but severed communication after receiving the money.
Paola Bertolini had first reported the alleged fraud to authorities in Italy. However, dissatisfied with the pace of action there, she flew to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and contacted the Gurugram Cyber Police, the officer said.
Bertolini met Cyber ACP Gaurav Fogat and explained the circumstances surrounding the alleged fraud. Police subsequently registered a case. She also posted details of her interaction with the police on the official social-media account of Gurugram Police.
“I came from Italy to report an international fraud (violation of FEMA with an NRI account, romance scam, promotion of drugs on Instagram, phishing mail to empty bank accounts), committed by a guy, who claimed to be living in Gurgaon,” she wrote.
“I went to the cybersecurity station in Gurgaon, flying from Italy, after having talked with ACP Gaurav Fogat, who immediately gave me assistance and alerted his wonderful team. All the cyber team was very professional and kind,” Bertolini said.
She said she had brought the matter to the attention of Italian authorities but feared that it “would have been dismissed for the longest time” because the case required coordination between two governments. She also alleged that such offences were not given adequate importance in Italy.
Thanking Fogat and the cybercrime team, Bertolini said she was awaiting the arrest of the accused and would extend complete assistance to investigators.
A senior police officer said Gurugram Police treated cybercrime complaints from victims in India and abroad seriously and provided the required assistance. He added that legal action would be initiated after examining the available facts and technical evidence.
Police are using technical surveillance and bank-account information to trace the accused, ACP Fogat said.
“A search for the accused has been launched based on technical surveillance and bank account details. The accused will be arrested soon,” he said.