The Galle Chief Magistrate has ordered the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) to investigate and report on the bank account of a suspect who had defrauded Rs. 375,000 from a woman in Hirumbura, Galle claiming that the latter had won a cash prize of USD 750,000 from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
The Magistrate had issued the order based on a request made by officials from the CID who presented facts to the Court yesterday (22).
The woman from Galle, who is a university graduate, is reported to have received an SMS on her mobile phone stating that she had won USD 750,000 from the ICC and requesting her personal details to receive the prize.
The woman had received another SMS on 24 July stating that officials from the UK are arriving with the cheque for the cash prize instructing her to make a payment of Rs. 90,245 for the Department of Customs to obtain clearance for the cash prize and had been issued a bank account in Nittambuwa to deposit the said amount.
A third SMS had been sent to her a few days later requesting her to make another deposit of Rs. 285,000 to a private account in Weligama to obtain the cash prize.
She had deposited Rs 375,000 to the account as requested.
When the victim was asked for another Rs. 582,700 as income tax, she had made inquiries at the Central Bank on the deposits on suspicion and had later been informed that it was a scam.
The victim had thereafter filed a complaint with the Criminal Investigations Department in this regard. (Newswire)