Pune woman loses Rs 90,000 in online fraud

The woman had posted an advertisement for a sofa and a chair on an online website during the transaction she was duped

A 39-year-old woman from Pune was duped by a person who posed as a potential customer to buy the furniture she had posted for sale on an online platform.

Fraud prevention button, concept about cybersecurity, credit card and identity protection against cyberattack and online thieves (Getty Images/iStockphoto/Representative Photo)

The woman had posted an advertisement for a sofa and a chair on an online website and she got a call from a person at 7:30pm on Friday who inquired about the furniture she had posted for sale. After the sale was decided upon, the caller said that for payment, he will send a QR code to the woman which he asked her to scan.

As soon as she scanned the QR code, Rs 50,000 was deducted from her bank account, according to the complainant. The complainant claims to have called the customer and told him that money was deducted from her account instead of depositing. The caller, then, allegedly sent another QR code which also was scanned by the complainant while hoping for the return of the money lost in the earlier transaction.

However, Rs 40,000 was transferred from the complainant’s account after the second scan, according to her complaint. Consequently, the woman realised that she had been cheated and reported it to the local police after a total of Rs 90,000 was deducted from her account.

A case under Section 420 (punishment for cheating) of the Indian Penal Code along with Sections 66(c) and 66(d) of Information Technology Act was registered at Wanowrie police station. Police inspector (crime) Saleem Chaus of Wanowrie police station is investigating the case.