Woman duped of Rs 3.5 lakh in Aluva

Kochi: A woman from Aluva was cheated of Rs 3.5 lakh by a man posing as the superintendent of prison in Thiruvananthapuram.Aluva police registered an FIR based on the complaint of a 66-year-old woman hailing from Keezhmad. As per her complaint, the accused claimed to be a very influential person and promised her that he would arrange a job for her younger son using his contacts.He demanded Rs 5 lakh from her for arranging the job. Believing him, the woman paid Rs 1 lakh to him at her house in May 2023. He then took a total of Rs 3.5 lakh in multiple instalments. She filed a complaint after the accused never returned the money or arranged a job for her son. The FIR was registered on Monday. Police said that they have launched a detailed probe.Meanwhile, Cyber Crime Police, Ernakulam Rural, registered a case after a 66-year-old man was duped of Rs 2.09 lakh by an individual impersonating a State Bank of India (SBI) official. The accused called him pretending to be from the customer care centre of the bank. The accused then tricked him into paying the amount from his account and the accounts of his family members. The alleged fraud occurred in Jan this year.