Man held for duping Navy officer in online resort booking fraud

Police said the victim, Joseph John Joy, a Marol resident, had searched online for a resort in January and contacted a mobile number listed on Google. The caller shared photos of rooms and convinced him to book two rooms

Mumbai: A Merchant Navy officer was duped of ₹12,000 in an online resort booking scam, with police arresting a suspect who allegedly received the fraud proceeds in his bank account.

Man held for duping Navy officer in online resort booking fraud

The accused, Datta Banaram Kedar, was arrested by Powai Police Station on Saturday and remanded to police custody till March 30.

Police said the victim, Joseph John Joy, a Marol resident, had searched online for a resort in January and contacted a mobile number listed on Google. The caller shared photos of rooms and convinced him to book two rooms.

Joy transferred ₹12,000 via a QR code as advance payment, but the amount was credited to a suspicious account named ‘Kunal Confectionery’ instead of the resort. When questioned, the accused gave evasive replies and later blocked the victim.

Realising he had been cheated, Joy approached the police, following which a case was registered under cheating and under the relevant provision of the Information Technology (IT) Act. Police said that technical analysis of the transaction trail led them to Kedar and during interrogation, his involvement in the crime was established.