Pune CA duped of ₹94,000 while booking hotel room online
A 30-year-old CA professional from Parvati in Pune was duped of ₹94,000 by a cyber fraudster while trying to book a hotel room online for his Goa trip
A 30-year-old CA professional from Parvati in Pune was duped of ₹94,000 by a cyber fraudster while trying to book a hotel room online for his Goa trip, said police officials on Monday.
According to the complainant, he was planning a three-day Goa trip on October 2. He surfed the internet for resorts. After shortlisting one, he dialled a number available on the search engine and paid ₹25,000 as an initial booking amount. However, the complainant did not get a booking confirmation receipt. Upon calling the number again, the fraudster asked him to make an additional payment of ₹39,850 to get the automatic generated receipt. The complainant also paid ₹29,850 through mobile wallet. Total amount paid was ₹94,000.
Police inspector Vijay Khomane said, “We have registered a complaint and investigation is underway. Residents must not fall prey to such fraudsters and check identity of person before making any complaints.”
A FIR under sections 419 (punishment for cheating), 420 (cheating and dishonestly) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other relevant sections of the Indian Information Technology Act 2000 has been registered at Dattawadi police station.
Pramod Karegonakar, Secretary of Tourism Forum of Maharashtra said, “People often fall prey to lucrative offers on the search engine and tourism-related fraud is on the rise. These fraudsters are spending large sum of money so that their name appears on the top. People should be cautious before making any bookings and check authenticity of the website.”
