Ahmedabad: A 63-year-old resident of Mithakhali filed a complaint with the Cybercrime police on Friday, alleging that unknown persons cheated him of Rs 13 lakh when he went to book a hotel room near the pilgrim place Ambaji temple in Banaskantha district.
The complainant stated in the FIR that on March 13, he Googled a hotel near Ambaji and found a cellphone number. He contacted that number, and a man posing as a staffer of the hotel told the complainant to pay Rs 10,000 in advance as the booking charge.
The complainant agreed, after which the cybercrook posing as the hotel staffer sent a QR code. The complainant paid Rs 10,000 first through UPI. Later, the complainant wanted to cancel the booking, so he approached the same person.
That person told the complainant to pay Rs 9,999 to cancel the booking and assured him that he would receive all his money back. The cybercrook told the complainant that if he paid Rs 9,999, the money would automatically be reversed to his main account.
However, no money was reversed, and the complainant again approached the same person. This time, the complainant was made to pay Rs 2 only, which he did, and he received Rs 4 back.
So, the complainant was convinced by the cyber crook, and he paid Rs 20,000, but this time he did not receive any money back. The cyber crook kept manipulating him and made him send more and more money.
The complainant ended up paying Rs 1.79 lakh to the cyber crook and did not receive anything later. Later, the cyber crook also took his banking details and other credentials to return the money, but he ended up emptying his bank account.
The complainant said he lost Rs 12.76 lakh to the cyber crook. Cybercrime police registered a case of cheating under the IPC along with charges of the Information Technology Act and began an investigation. MSID:: 116509806 413 |
Ahmedabad: A 63-year-old labour contractor living in Mithakhali lost Rs 13 lakh in an online hotel booking scam while trying to book accommodation in the temple town of Ambaji.
The victim lodged a complaint with the Cybercrime police on Friday, stating that he searched online for a hotel near Ambaji in March and came across a phone number. When he called, a scammer posing as hotel staff asked him to pay Rs 10,000 as an advance booking fee via a QR code.
Later, when the senior citizen decided to cancel the booking, he contacted the same number. The scammer demanded Rs 9,999 as a cancellation charge, assuring him the full amount would be refunded.
In order to gain the victim’s trust, the caller told him to transfer Rs two and reversed Rs four into his account.
The fraudster then persuaded the victim to pay Rs 20,000 and continued manipulating him into transferring more money under various pretexts.
The fraudster also convinced the man to share his bank details and other credentials, promising to return the money. Instead, he siphoned off an additional Rs 12.76 lakh from the account.