Mumbai senior citizen orders beer online, loses Rs 25,000 to fraudster
The man called a helpline number that he found in a popular search engine that messaged him numbers of local wine shops but the one he rang turned out of be that of a fraudster.
A 64-year-old retired engineer ended up paying through his nose after he tried to order beer online from a local wine shop only to discover that a cyber fraudster siphoned off almost Rs 25,000 from his account, police said.
The man called the helpline number that he found in a popular search engine that messaged him numbers of local wine shops but the one he called turned out of be a fake one. The number was of a cyber-fraudster who allegedly tricked the engineer into sending Rs 24,690.
According to Samta Nagar police, the complainant is a resident of Mumbai’s Lokhandwala township in Kandivali (East). He lodged a FIR with Samta Nagar police on February 17.
He called the helpline number of a popular search engine on the night of February 15 and received four numbers in an SMS message from the search engine.
He called on one of the numbers thinking it was of a local wine shop in Lokhandwala. The man who answered his call sent him a QR code used to make payment through e-wallet and said he will have to pay Rs 350 for the beer in advance. The engineer followed the instructions but found that Rs 12, 345 was debited from his account. The engineer then questioned the fraudster who apologised and said it happened by mistake.
The fraudster again sent a QR code saying this time the money will be refunded. The engineer again scanned the QR code and another Rs 12,345 were withdrawn.
He was then convinced that he was cheated and approached the local wine shop. The wine shop owner told him that they do not have any online services. The engineer then approached the local police and lodged a complaint.
Get Current Updates on India News, Election 2024, Arvind Kejriwal News Live, Bihar Board 10th Result 2024 Live along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India and around the world.