Kathmandu, March 24

Nepal Police has cautioned people not to be lured and carried away by lottery scammers, who are cheating gullible persons from home and abroad.

An appeal issued by the security agency today said that some racketeers had been operating on Nepali mobile phones and online messengers (Viber and WhatsApp) from Nepal and foreign countries alike to defraud unsuspecting or naive users of cash.

According to Nepal Police Headquarters, the messages sent to Internet and mobile users claim that the recipient has won a substantial sum of money in an online lottery scheme or they are sending him/her a parcel of electronic gadgets and jewellery.

“The messages entice gullible recipients into replying to scammers and sending them a certain amount through wire or banking channel ‘for tax clearance to claim the lottery or the parcel’. Some victims are even found to have deposited cash in the bank accounts as told by scammers and have approached police seeking help to initiate against the fraudsters, who have never seen or met,” he informed.

“We appeal to all Internet and mobile phone users to not respond to such message and to report it to the nearest police units if they receive such messages,” it said.  Police have recorded over 500 complaints against the lottery and parcel scammers across the county in the past one year. Officials said they had managed to bring to book some 40 suspects during the period. Both Nepalis and foreigns, mainly the Africans, are actively engaged in the lottery schemes.

The Central Investigation Bureau recently arrested a woman for defrauding 34 persons of Rs 4.3 million from 34 persons. Ang Leme Sherpa, 33, of Solukhumbu district, currently residing in Bouddha identified herself as a foreigner on Facebook and befriended with many people. She allured the victims of sending electronic goods, including iPhone, iPad and pearl necklace, and urged them to send her money for ‘tax and customs clearance to receive the parcel’.

Last week, police arrested and made public nine persons on charge of swindling various people out of millions of rupees through social networking sites in the name of lottery in Pokhara. According to police, the scammers had cheated as many as 88 people of more than Rs 10.3 million.