Mumbai: For 69-year-old Anand Raj (name changed), trusting a Facebook friend proved to be costly. The Mira Road-based retired railway officer became the latest victim of an online fraud after being duped of Rs 20 lakh. A FIR was registered under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code  at the Naya Nagar police station on Saturday.

In his complaint, the retired officer stated that he came in contact with a woman, who identified herself as Jenny William through Facebook. Soon the two exchanged mobile numbers and began chatting on instant messaging apps.

Claiming to be a civic engineer, the woman expressed her desire to send some expensive gifts to the complainant. Later, a woman, posing as the representative of a courier agency, called up the complainant informing about the arrival of his parcel. The parcel, the complainant said, contained a laptop, watch, I-phone and a sealed envelope. However, the woman asked him to pay Rs 33,800 to obtain it. The Facebook friend urged the complainant to collect the gifts at the earliest since they were expensive, adding that the sealed envelope also carried a cheque of 50,000 pounds (around `89 lakh in Indian currency).

After clearing the courier charges, the complainant paid around Rs 20 lakh, through multiple bank transfers. However, when the fraudsters began demanding more money, he grew suspicious and registered a complaint.