Job aspirant loses Rs 51,000 to fraudster in Mumbai

According to Powai police, the complainant works an as assistant manager at an insurance firm. On July 10, his wife, who is an advocate, received an SMS, containing a phone number, purportedly sent by AAI.

A 38-year-old man working for an insurance firm was duped of Rs. 51,000 by four people who impersonated officials from the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and told him he had been selected for a job at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA).

AAI has asked job aspirants to be more careful in the future, and clarified that no websites or agencies have been authorised to show job vacancies or accept applications on its behalf. (HT FILE)

The AAI has asked job aspirants to be more careful in the future, and clarified that no websites or agencies have been authorised to show job vacancies or accept applications on its behalf.

According to Powai police, the complainant works an as assistant manager at an insurance firm. On July 10, his wife, who is an advocate, received an SMS, containing a phone number, purportedly sent by AAI. The SMS stated that people can contact the number if they are looking for a job as a ground staff member. The complainant called the number and was asked to send bio-data to an ‘official’ email ID.

A few days later, the complainant got a call from another fraudster posing as an AAI official. The fraudster told the complainant that he had been selected for a job as assistant manager at CSMIA.Two more fraudsters called the complainant and made him deposit a total of ₹51,000 as processing fees, GST and other miscellaneous charges.

However, when the fraudsters asked the complainant for even more money, he refused to pay it. Shortly after this, the fraudsters switched off their phones and the complainant could not contact them. On August 18, the complainant filed a police complaint. An FIR was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Information Technology (IT) Act.

A spokesperson for AAI said, “AAI is aware of incidents where unscrupulous elements forge AAI’s name/logo and try to deceive [people] by false promises of securing a job in AAI. We have been taking various steps for generating awareness about this. No websites or agencies have been authorised by AAI either to show vacancy position in their site or to accept any application for recruitment for AAI’s vacancies. In case of such incidents, it is advised to contact the nearest police station and AAI will not be responsible for any financial loss or damage.”