In a heartbreaking incident, a couple from Hyderabad looking to sell their kidneys to pay off their debts, was duped of Rs 40 lakh by an international gang of Cyber fraudsters. According to an IANS report, the fraudsters, promised to pay Rs 5 crore for organ sale, lured the couple into depositing Rs 40 lakh into their bank accounts.
Notably, M. Venkatesh and Lavnya, who ran a stationery and bangles shop, had taken bank loan for construction of a four-storied building. However, their business was affected by Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown, and their debts mounted to Rs 1.5 crore. With pressure mounting from financial institutions to repay the debts, the couple decided to sell their kidneys to clear the debts.
The couple then started looking for prospective buyers online and found the contact number of a person posing as an employee at a UK hospital. The fraudster offered Rs 5 crore but made the couple believe that they have to first pay charges to complete the process. In desperate need of money, the couple believed him and deposited Rs 10 lakh in his bank account towards registration charges, processing fee, currency exchange charges, visa fee and insurance.
When he demanded more money, they contacted another person and transferred Rs 12 lakh to his account. They also approached two other persons over the Internet. One of them promised that on payment of registration, half of the price for their kidneys will be paid to them as advance amount. He asked them to meet his representative at a lodge in Bengaluru to collect the advance amount.
Trusting him, they went to Bengaluru and met the agent. The agent gave them black papers, saying they are currency notes of Rs 2,000. When the couple grew suspicious, he took out an unknown chemical and turned a few papers into currency notes and made them believe that this was done to maintain secrecy.
He gave them an entire lot of black papers with the chemical and asked them to use the chemical after 48 hours. He also made them to transfer another Rs 14 lakh to his account.
