Bhopal, February 25: Indian scammers are preying on families who are desperate to bring their children home from war-torn Ukraine.

Lab assistant Vaishali Wilson, whose daughter Sristhi is stranded in Ukraine, became their "first' victim in Madhya Pradesh. She has been pleading with national and state authorities for help to bring her home. Her plight went viral and brought her to the attention of a conman, who posed as a 'personal assistant' at the PMO in New Delhi.

According to a report in The Times of India, The caller, who identified himself as 'Prince' asked her to transfer Rs 42,000 to a bank account to arrange for an evacuation flight ticket for her daughter. The unsuspecting mother sent the money immediately. But when she didn't get a response from him, she got nervous.

"I made multiple calls to him on his number but there was no response. He returned R$ 5,000 to my account and sent fake receipts showing more transactions," Vaishali told TOl on Thursday.

She approached some officials. "Some senior administrative officers told me that there was no such person in the PMO," she added. Vaishali then lodged a complaint with police, who traced Prince's location in Delhi.  Online Fraud in Pune: 76-Year-Old Man Duped of Rs 60 Lakh on Pretext of Dating High Profile Women, Two Arrested

Vidisha SP Monika Shukla said an FIR has been registered and teams have been sent to arrest the accused. "We have seized his bank account.”  Online Fraud In Pune: Senior Clerk Duped Of Rs 1.70 Lakh By Cyber Fraudster By Posing As Credit Card Employee; Case Registered

Health minister Prabhuram Chaudhary and medical education minister Vishwas Sarang also called Vaishali and promised her all help to bring  Srishti home. She also received some calls from the ministry of external affairs in Delhi.

Adding to her woes, Ukraine has closed airspace to civilian flights. "My daughter was fine till yesterday, but now she seems scared. We are very worried," Vaishali said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 25, 2022 12:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).