Accidental video call exposes visa conman

A scamster who was duping a 52yearold woman doctor while posing as a highranking lsquoUnited States embassyrsquo official residing in Washington DC unwittingly exposed his true identity after accidentally videocalling her while travelling in an auto rickshaw in MumbaiAccording to the police the complainant a Juhu resident met the accused Shailesh Parekh 55 via a matrimonial platform in 2010ldquoAfter registering on the site the doctor received a message on her mobile phone from the accused Parekh then began sending good morning and good night messages daily to which the complainant responded As they kept conversing he claimed that he was a resident of Mumbai and owned a flat in Juhu but was living in Washington DC where he workedrdquo a police officer saidldquoEventually he expressed his desire to marry the doctor However she turned down the proposalrdquo the officer addedOver time Parekh gained the complainantrsquos trust assuring her that he could use his influence to help her obtain a US visa With the help of an accomplice he allegedly duped her of Rs 2 lakhldquoThe doctor had applied for a US visa in November 2024 to attend the convocation ceremony of her nephew who was pursuing an MBBS degree However she was facing difficulties with the visa process and was unsure about how to proceed At that moment she remembered Parekh and reached out to him for helprdquo said an officialldquoParekh assured the doctor that he would assist her and shared the mobile number of a woman named Beena Parikh who he claimed would help her obtain a visardquo said an officerParikh asked the doctor to transfer money via PhonePe for the visa process Since the doctor did not have the digital payment app on her mobile she first downloaded it Between December 21 2024 and February 15 2025 Parikh repeatedly demanded money for visa processing on different occasions She also told the doctor that since the government had changed in the US and Donald Trump had become president again visa processing fees had increasedldquoThe scam came to light on February 15 when the doctor accidentally received a video call from Parekhrsquos phone It is believed that he was unaware of the call being placed When the doctor answered she was shocked to see the man who had claimed he was in the US in an auto rickshaw in Mumbairdquo the officer saidRealising she had been deceived the doctor immediately lodged a written complaint at the Juhu police stationldquoBased on the complaint we have registered a case against Parekh and Beena Parikh under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita The investigation is underwayrdquo said another officer