2 men pose as Paytm employees, transfer Rs 16,000 from hotel owner’s account

When the manager complained of a minor issue, the duo took the mobile phone and stole payment details such as password and customer ID

The Powai police on Sunday arrested two men, who allegedly posed as employees of Paytm, a popular Indian e-wallet, to steal Rs16,000 from a hotel manager’s account. Their two aides have also been arrested.

Using the account, the duo transferred Rs16,000 to the account two other accused -- Javed Shaikh, 25 and Sandeep Kanoji, 28. (HT)

On July 12, the hotel owner gave the manager a separate mobile phone to accept hotel bills paid using the e-wallet.

The duo -- Amit Yadav, 28, a former employee of the e-wallet and Brijkumar Yadav, 26 – approached the manager, claiming they were sent by Paytm to check if they had issues with the e-wallet.

When the manager complained of a minor issue, the duo took the mobile phone and stole payment details such as password and customer ID.

They then changed the password and transferred the account to another mobile, using the OTP. They left the spot saying their technical team will handle the issue.

Using the account, the duo transferred Rs16,000 to the account two other accused -- Javed Shaikh, 25 and Sandeep Kanoji, 28.

Advocate and cyber expert Vicky Shah said, “Such representatives will never come without a service request number of a given complaint. The manager should not have believed him. He should have verified the identity of the person. Even if he is an employee of the e-wallet, the password and username should never be shared.”