Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Fraudsters have found a new tactic to scam people in Madhya Pradesh’s tourist town Khajuraho. The miscreants allegedly replaced the original QR codes of over a dozen shopkeepers with fake ones, to redirect the payments to their bank accounts.
Upon complaint, the police nabbed one person within 72 hours with the help of CCTV footage.
According to information, the matter came to light after one of the victims Omvati Gupta noticed suspicious payments and details during transactions.
The victims
According to Gupta, when a customer tried to make a payment on Monday morning, the QR code displayed the name ‘Chhotu Tiwari’ instead of the shop’s correct details. Seeing this he assumed a potential scam and reported it to the police.
Similar cases were reported at a local petrol pump, where customers faced payment issues as their money failed to reach the right recipients.
A trader in Narayan Market reported losing Rs 985 and Rs 1 through fake QR codes placed outside his shop.
Apart from this, the fraud was also reported in Bade Bhaiya Paan Wale and Resham Kirana. Shopkeepers at these locations removed the fake QR codes once they became aware of the scam.
Miscreants caught on CCTV
Police found CCTV footage from Gupta’s medical store showing three men pasting fake QR codes over the genuine ones at several shops and even a petrol pump in Khajuraho.
Acting on the scam, police arrested a suspect, Chhotu Tiwari within 72 hours of complaint. He is a resident of Aamli village in the Gursarai police station area of Jhansi district, Uttar Pradesḥ.
During the investigation, authorities recovered several fake QR code stickers and suspected that others might be involved in the operation. Efforts are ongoing to arrest them.
According to Chhatarpur SP Aagam Jain, “Two more suspects are yet to be arrested. We are analyzing bank transactions and have found that approximately Rs 1,700 was stolen through this scam.”
