Cyber frauds take control of defunct restaurant’s Google page

Mumbai: A Bandra-based hotelier complained to the police that some cyber frauds had allegedly taken control of the Google reviews page of his now defunct restaurant, and were conning people under the guise of booking rooms by adding their own phone number on the page

Mumbai: A Bandra-based hotelier complained to the police that some cyber frauds had allegedly taken control of the Google reviews page of his now defunct restaurant, and were conning people under the guise of booking rooms by adding their own phone number on the page.

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The complainant Chetan Bhende mentioned that his hotel AB Celestial, located very close to the toll plaza on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, was closed in April 2021. “In May this year, I got a call from someone who said they had paid ₹5,000 to a person named Manoj Sharma for booking a table at the restaurant. Since then, I have received at least 30 such calls. When they reach the spot and find the restaurant shut, they start calling all the numbers on the Google page again,” said Bhende.

The police have booked the unknown accused under section 419 (cheating by personation) of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.