Double Whammy: Ad On Social Media, Phone Call To Hire Auto Used As Duping Tools | Representative Image
Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Perhaps for the first time in the city, a person fell victim to online scammers twice in a day and lost over Rs 31,000.
The complainant, an auto rickshaw driver, was first lured by a conman on the pretext of a job in the US and then by another fraudster pretending to hire his auto to take his wife to the railway station.
Additional DCP (crime) Rajesh Dandotiya said auto driver Rahim (name changed) lodged a complaint on Tuesday that he had seen an advertisement for a job in the US on a social media platform recently. He made a phone call on the number shown in the advertisement.
The person at the other end told him that he could help Rahim get a job in the US with board and lodging. The conmen later informed him that he had to apply for VISA clearance/immigration and took Rs 27,000 for the same. When the conman again demanded Rs 40,000 for the process, the complainant got to know that he had transferred the money to an online fraudster and did not send money again.
He later lodged a complaint on helpline number 1930.
Another scammer made phone call
On the same day, Rahim got a phone call and the caller informed that he was at the city railway station. His wife, who was admitted to a hospital, was getting discharged and had to be dropped to the railway station.
The auto driver reached the hospital and contacted the conman, who informed him that there was some issue in his wife’s UPI app, so he would transfer Rs 4,400 to him (Rahim).
The conman also told him that after deducting Rs 100 as his fare, he should transfer Rs 4,300 to his wife, as she needed money. After seeing a fake message of money credit, the auto driver fell in the trap and transferred Rs 4,300.
The conman again sent a message of credit of Rs 10,000 to the complainant and called Rahim to return the amount, saying he had sent it by mistake. But this time Rahim got suspicious and checked his bank account, only to find that no money was transferred.
He again lodged a complaint on the helpline number 1930. On the basis of the complaints, the crime branch froze the bank accounts and started an investigation to recover the money.
