Mumbai taxi driver uses prank app to cheat shop keepers; arrested

The app, available on Google play, helps users show that they’ve debited money from their account when they scan the QR code of the recipient even though the actual transaction hasn’t been made

The Meghwadi Police on Sunday arrested a taxi driver for allegedly cheating grocery and retail shop owners to the tune of ₹2.80 lakh by using an e-wallet linked to a prank app.

Representational Image.

The app, available on Google play, helps users show that they’ve debited money from their account when they scan the QR code of the recipient even though the actual transaction hasn’t been made.

Police caught Nizamuddin Shaikh, a Jogeshwari resident, while he was making one such ‘payment’ to a shop owner. They were responding to a complaint from one shop owner that the payments made by a customer using an e-wallet did not reach his account. When they started investigation, another shop owner approached them with a similar complaint.

The police registered a First Information Report as more and more shopkeepers came forward with the same issue.

Sanjeev Pimple, senior police inspector of Meghwadi police station, said they formed teams which started keeping check on shops and customers who were making payments through e-wallet app.

Shaikh was intercepted when they saw that his payment had not reached the shopkeeper’s account. He would take advantage of the crowd in a shop and just show the shopkeeper his phone that the amount was deducted from his account and leave the shop. The shopkeepers used assume that the amount will soon reflect in their accounts.

On questioning, Shaikh revealed that he had seen a video on YouTube about the app using which the QR code scanned by the user can switch it in a way that the amount of payment is just shown deducted from the account, but does not get credited to the recipient. Police found the app on Shaikh’s phone.

They are now on the lookout for more people who might have cheated shopkeepers using similar apps.