(Representative image)

BENGALURU: A 35-year-old businessman with a private company filed a police complaint that a woman claiming to be an American nurse recently cheated him of Rs 4.7 lakh.

Ravikumar R of Nelamangala said that three months ago, he and Rachana Karam Vaidya became friends on Facebook. "She claimed to be a nurse working in the US. After a few days, she asked me whether I could help her purchase a house in Bengaluru," Ravikumar said. In her messages, Rachana said she had gold ornaments and American dollars that could be converted to Indian currency so that she could buy the property with Ravikumar's help.

"Trusting her, I told her to send the gold and dollars. On October 2, I got a call from one Nisha Kumari, who introduced herself as a customs official. Nisha told me that a parcel from the US had come in my name and I should make an online payment of Rs 38,000 for clearance," Ravikumar told police. He transferred Rs 38,000 to the bank account given by Nisha Kumari.

"On October 10, Nisha Kumari again called me, asking me to transfer Rs 1.6 lakh for the final clearance. I transferred the amount and received an e-certificate that looked like a custom certificate saying my parcel had been cleared," he said.

On October 17, a man, claiming to be a senior customs official, called Ravikumar and asked him to transfer Rs 2.7 lakh as the parcel weighed more than the permissible limit. "Again, I deposited the cash," Ravikumar said. By then, Ravikumar had deposited Rs 4.7 lakh to different accounts.

"On October 25, a man, identifying himself as Swarab Joshi , a senior RBI official, called me to say I had to transfer Rs 4.7 lakh again as the bank accounts hadn't received the money. I lost my cool and shouted at him. The call got disconnected. Suspecting foul play, I went to the RBI office on Nrupatunga Road. The staff told me there was no one called Swarab Joshi. I tried calling Nisha and Rachana but their phones were switched off," he wrote in his complaint.

