Posing as Panchkula MLA, fraudster tries to dupe man of ₹13,000

The complainant, who runs a Photostat shop in Baltana, told the Panchkula police that on Friday, he received a phone call from an unknown number; the caller identified himself as Ajay, the security officer of Gian Chand Gupta, and said the MLA wanted to speak to him

A scammer trying to make quick money posed as Haryana speaker and Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta to con a Sector-19 resident into paying him ₹13,863.

However, growing suspicious that someone was trying to defraud him, Satish Kumar approached the police. (iStock)

But alert about the widespread impersonation scam, the resident, Satish Kumar, alerted the police.

The complainant, who runs a Photostat shop in Baltana, told the police that on Friday, he received a phone call from an unknown number. The caller identified himself as Ajay, the security officer of Gian Chand Gupta, and said the MLA wanted to speak to him.

Kumar alleged that the man claiming to be Gupta asked him to pay the fees for his sister’s daughter, who is currently studying at Panjab University. He provided him a bank account number and told him to transfer ₹13,863 that he could collect in cash from his house in Sector 17.

However, growing suspicious that someone was trying to defraud him, Kumar approached the police.

Acting on the complaint, police registered a case under Sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 511 (attempting to commit offences) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Sector 20 police station. Police have advised residents to remain cautious of scammers, who may pose as heads of government departments, elected representatives or simply people known to them. The usual modus operandi is to create a financial urgency to make the victim pay out of concern. However, the claims must always be cross-checked.