Canacona mother-daughter duped
Fraudsters posed as TV channel representatives
THE GOAN NETWORK
CANACONA
Answering a quiz on a TV channel proved costly for a woman and her daughter from Canacona, after they were duped to the tune of Rs 18,500 by some persons posing as representatives of a TV channel.
The daughter had correctly answered a quiz on the TV channel aired on a cable TV network and on the pretext of winning a car worth Rs 12 lakh, the duo were conned on two occasions to deposit the amount in the bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.
In two different transactions within a few hours, the duo deposited Rs 5,500 and Rs 13,000 in two different bank accounts provided by the fraudsters at a nationalised bank in Canacona.
As attempts were being made to con the two women for a third transaction, this time amounting to Rs 24,000, the family realized that they were being taken for a ride and stopped further dealings and bank deposits.
It all began when the daughter was watching a TV channel on January 17. She took part in a quiz and guessed the distorted face of a well-known actor shown on the screen. She immediately called up the phone number flashed on the TV.
The next day, she received a call that she had correctly answered the TV quiz and had won a Tata Safari worth Rs 12 lakh as the first prize.
On receipt of another call from same number, the daughter was asked to disclose her bank account number. Finding something amiss she consulted her mother and some close friends. She was advised to provide details of a dormant account or any other account with minimum balance.
She kept receiving calls and at one time, a female voice asked her to deposit Rs 5500 as transfer charges of the huge amount into her account.
After initially doubting their claims, she decided to take a chance, depositing Rs 5,500 into an account specified by the fraudsters at the Chaudi branch.
Even before Tanvi could leave the bank counter, she received another call on her cell and the female voice regretted a mistake and stated that she had to deposit a total of Rs 18,000.
After being virtually brainwashed by another call, she borrowed Rs 13,000 from a neighbour and deposited the amount into an account specified by the fraudsters.
Refusing to give up, the fraudsters tried to con the daughter into parting with another Rs 24,000, but the girl realized that she was being tricked and refused to part with more money.
Despite fervent pleas by friends, the woman and her daughter have refused to lodge a police complaint with the available details, fearing that their money will be lost forever.
