Mumbai man books two air-tickets through ‘agent’, gets duped of Rs81,000
A 38-year-old executive with a multinational media conglomerate in India was recently duped of Rs81,000 by an unidentified agent he had contacted over the phone, after getting his number through a popular search engine, to buy two return air tickets to Italy. An FIR has been registered at the Sakinaka police station in Andheri (East), and further probe is on to nab the accused.
According to the Sakinaka police, the complainant is a resident of Andheri (East) and wanted to visit Italy with his wife. Hence, he searched for the number of a booking agent online, and spoke to him over the phone.
The agent took money from him in two instalments on the pretext of booking air-tickets and mailing him the e-tickets. The complainant on September 3 told the agent to book two tickets to Italy via Munich for September 15, and return tickets from there for September 22. The victim transferred the money into a bank account given by the agent.
The agent said the tickets will be booked within a week’s time. However, after a week passed by, the complainant tried to contacted the agent, but he cut off all communication. The victim then realised that he has been duped and called up the travel agency for which the agent worked. The agency informed him that they did not receive any money from him, and no air tickets have been booked by him.
The complainant then approached the Sakinaka police station in the second week of September, where a First Information Report (FIR) was registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and IT Act. A police officer from Sakinaka police station said, “The accused has switched off his phone. Many a times, accused use SIM cards which are either stolen or bought using forged documents. We are also tracking the money trail.”