Bengaluru woman scammed of ₹30,000 for African grey parrot she didn’t buy, complaint filed: Report | Bengaluru

A 27-year-old woman from Bengaluru’s Koramangala was cheated of ₹30,000 in a fraudulent parrot purchase scheme.

According to a Times of India report, Shivangi, a central government employee, had been searching for an African Grey parrot at a reduced price. She received a call from an unknown number, 9148135054, where a man claimed to know a seller of African Grey parrots. The stranger offered her a parrot for ₹40,000, much lower than the market price of ₹75,000.

The woman, who had previously posted about her interest in buying a parrot on Facebook, engaged in the conversation, though she had not shared her phone number. The man sent her photos and videos of the bird, claiming it was a female, 15-18 months old, and fully tamed with DNA certification. He told her that the bird was available at a much lower price because he had already paid half of the amount to the seller, asking Shivangi to pay the remaining balance directly to him, the report added.

When Shivangi asked for the bird’s location, the man arranged a conference call with another person, who claimed to be the seller. The location provided was a pet shop on Infantry Road. Shivangi visited the shop, where the shopkeeper showed her the bird and confirmed its details in Kannada, a language she didn’t fully understand.

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Denial of payment

After agreeing to buy the bird, Shivangi transferred ₹30,000 to the fraudster’s UPI ID. However, when she asked the shopkeeper to hand over the bird, he denied receiving any payment. The woman suspected the stranger and the shopkeeper were in cahoots, as the shopkeeper had recognized the bird from the photos sent by the fraudster.

The shopkeeper denied any involvement and suggested Shivangi file a police complaint.

A case has been registered under the Information Technology Act and Sections 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police are actively investigating the fraudster.

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