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Vadodara, Nov 5 (IANS) A woman posing as a foreign job consultant allegedly duped a man of Rs 4.25 lakh from a resident of Chhani in Gujarat’s Vadodara district in the name of getting him a visa and job in Canada.
Later the accused switched off his phone and hid.
According to the complaint lodged at Chhani police station, the victim, Rajesh Kumar Bapuji Patel, a resident of Yoginagar township near Ram Kaka Dairy, said he was looking for opportunities abroad after not getting satisfactory employment in Vadodara.
The official said that on March 26, Patel received a call from a woman calling herself Preeti Chauhan from Blue Tech Visa Consultancy.
“He offered assistance in obtaining a Canadian work visa, and assured her that payment could be made later and deducted from her future salary once she arrived in Canada,” he said.
The official said Patel shared his documents, following which he received a call from an international number for an alleged “interview”.
“Later, Chauhan informed him that he had been selected and demanded money under various pretexts, including document verification, embassy fees, bank account setup, biometrics and flight booking,” he said.
Patel transferred a total of Rs 4.25 lakh before Chauhan stopped responding and switched off his phone, the officer said.
He said that Chhani police has registered a case against Preeti Chauhan, Prachi Rajput, Mastan Singh and Yasin and started investigating the fraud.
Visa-related fraud has emerged as a growing concern in Gujarat, with cases increasing by more than 113 percent in just three years.
According to police data, between 2020-21 and 2022-23, 139 complaints of visa fraud were registered in the state, causing a financial loss of about Rs 74 lakh, of which only about Rs 41 lakh has been recovered so far.
Cities like Vadodara and Ahmedabad have become hotspots – Vadodara alone reported 31 cases, while Ahmedabad reported 26 cases in the same period.
Scams usually revolve around fake promises of Canadian, American or Australian work visas, forged documents and fake interviews.
Victims are lured with offers of guaranteed jobs or immigration approval, asked to pay huge fees for “processing,” “biometrics,” or “embassy clearance,” and then the fraudsters disappear.
–IANS
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