Chandigarh: Man held for posing as broker on FB, duping woman of ₹22k

Sleuths of the cyber crime police station said the fraudster used to publish advertisements on social media platforms and addressed himself as a broker or room rent provider

The cyber crime police station of Chandigarh Police arrested a 30-year-old man for allegedly cheating a woman of ₹22,300 by posing as a broker on websites and posting fake advertisements related to the sale and purchase of a property.

The accused was identified as Ankit Gaur, a resident of Kaushal Enclave, Zirakpur, Mohali. (Getty image)

The accused was identified as Ankit Gaur, a resident of Kaushal Enclave, Zirakpur, Mohali.

Complainant Priyanka Rana, a resident of Sector 34, in her complaint, told the police that she was searching for an accommodation on rent in Chandigarh and she came across an advertisement on Facebook, which had a mobile number.

On August 23, she contacted the given number. The caller told her to send her requirements on WhatsApp. The complainant wrote a message saying that she needed a room set. Following this, the caller shared the picture of the room to the complainant on WhatsApp and an amount of ₹9,000 was settled per month. The caller asked her to pay ₹20,000, including one month’s rent, one month’s advance and ₹2,000 towards brokerage.

On August 28, she transferred ₹18,000 and ₹2,000 through Google Pay on a mobile number which the caller said belonged to the owner of the house. The complainant contacted the caller again to get the room keys.

The caller again asked the complainant to pay the remaining amount of brokerage of ₹2,300 on the said Google Pay mobile number which she did.

After the complainant asked for the room keys, she neither got the room on rent nor her money returned following which she approached the police.

After registration of the case, a raid was conducted in Zirakpur from where the accused was arrested with the help of technical support. The accused was produced in a court and has been remanded to two days in police custody.

Modus Operandi

Sleuths of the cyber crime police station said the fraudster used to publish advertisements on social media platforms and addressed himself as a broker or room rent provider. He then cheats on innocent people and runs away with the money.