A group of scammers pocketed Tk 17.67 lakh of an unsuspecting man by luring him with the promise to pay $5 million in fake insurance claim of a deceased individual in the US.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Media) Deputy Commissioner Talebur Rahman told reporters that the victim Md Nuruzzaman filed a case against the offenders with New Market Police Station on Saturday.
On Sunday police arrested Aziz Molla, one of the fraudsters, from an office called "Model Agency" at Banasree, said Talebur Rahman.
During primary interrogation, Aziz Molla confessed to his involvement in the crime, he said.
Talebur Rahman said that on September 29, the complainant, Md Nuruzzaman, got in touch with a Facebook account named "Anna Harrison". This person provided him with a WhatsApp number and asked him to continue the conversation there.
On WhatsApp, the individual informed Nuruzzaman that a Bangladeshi-origin man named Mohammad Belton had died while working in the US and had deposited $5 million in Alliance Bank of the US.
The person then asked the complainant to pose as a relative of the deceased and provided another WhatsApp number, allegedly belonging to the bank manager of Alliance Bank. "Anna Harrison" instructed Nuruzzaman to forward a pre-written message to this bank manager.
Later, the complainant was given the contact number of a supposed legal adviser, with whom he then communicated. The so-called legal adviser told him that in order to claim the insurance money, Nuruzzaman had to send him $76,000.
"Anna Harrison" also provided a payment slip to Nuruzzaman showing she had paid this dollar amount herself to the supposed legal adviser, according to a press release signed by Deputy Commissioner Talebur Rahman.
The bank manager then asked for Tk 1.85 lakh for insurance and delivery costs, which the complainant deposited into a Dutch-Bangla Bank account in Uttara. On October 3, someone claiming to be a customs officer from Dhaka airport called and informed Nuruzzaman that his two luggage bags were being held by customs.
The caller demanded Tk 4.07 lakh to release the bags, which Nuruzzaman transferred to an Islami Bank account. Following further instructions from the customs officer, Nuruzzaman paid another Tk 11.75 lakh as income tax and duties to a different Islami Bank account. Despite making these payments, the fraudsters continued to demand an additional Tk 10.50 lakh.
During the arrest, nine cheque books from various banks, three ATM cards, two Visa cards, and two mobile phones used for the fraud were seized.
