Mohali: A Mohali cattle farmer was allegedly cheated of nearly Rs 1 lakh after fraudsters posing as dairy operators on Facebook promised to sell him a buffalo, collected money through multiple bank accounts and then vanished.Harmesh Singh, a resident of Kurdi village who earns his livelihood by rearing buffaloes and selling milk, told police that he came across a Facebook page, Lakshmi Narayan Dairy, on Sept 5. The page carried a photograph of a buffalo that had recently given birth and was being offered for sale.After contacting the mobile numbers listed on the page, Harmesh allegedly finalised a deal for the buffalo at Rs 55,000. The sellers assured him that the animal would be delivered once the payment was made.Believing the offer to be genuine, he transferred money in multiple instalments to different bank accounts between Sept 6 and Sept 9. The accused allegedly told him that any excess amount deposited would be adjusted or refunded at the time of delivery.However, the buffalo was never delivered. Soon after receiving the payments, the suspects allegedly switched off their mobile phones and became unreachable.Realising he had been duped, Harmesh contacted the 1930 cybercrime helpline and lodged a complaint with the police.The Cyber Crime police station has registered a case and launched an investigation into the Facebook page, mobile numbers and bank accounts used in the transactions. Efforts are under way to identify the beneficiaries of the transfers and recover the money.Police said online marketplace frauds involving livestock and farm equipment have been reported in recent years, and buyers should verify sellers before making advance payments.
