Air India pilot tries to order liquor online, duped of ₹38,000

The 33-year-old pilot lodged a complaint with Powai police station on August 11 alleging one of his relatives looked up local wine shops online to order alcohol.

A pilot of Air India was allegedly cheated of ₹38,000 while trying to order liquor online from a wine shop in Mumbai, police said on Wednesday, in a series of such cases in the city this year.

The pilot said two transactions were made and ₹38,000 was withdrawn from his bank account. (HT photo)

The 33-year-old pilot lodged a complaint with Powai police station on August 11 alleging one of his relatives looked up local wine shops online to order alcohol. She found the number of Star Wines in Powai and called.

She was told by a person, who answered her call, that they do not take cash on delivery and she will have to make an advance payment. The pilot then took the phone and dictated his debit card details and also shared his One Time Password (OTP) twice.

The pilot said two transactions were made and ₹38,000 was withdrawn from his bank account. The pilot then rushed to Star Wines, where he was told him that they do not offer online service and that others have been duped similarly. He then approached Powai Police.

This is not the first time cyber-fraudsters have given their own numbers on internet search engines as that of local wine shops and conned people ordering liquor by asking for online advance payment.

“The cyber fraudsters are finding out the name of liquor shops in your local area and then uploading their fake numbers on internet search engines to evade suspicion that the numbers are fake. As people know names of liquor shops in their area they think the numbers online would be genuine,” a Powai Police official said requesting anonymity.

Last month, a Khar resident lost ₹35,500 while trying to order liquor online. On June 16, an Andheri resident was similarly duped of ₹20,000.