Mumbai man loses Rs 2.75 lakh in fake hotel booking cyber fraud

Police have registered a case under the relevant sections of the IT Act. Representational Pic

A 70-year-old businessman from Mulund, Mumbai, lost Rs 2.75 lakh to cyber fraudsters after dialling a fake customer care number while attempting to book a hotel online.

According to Navghar Police officers, the complainant, who is a resident of Mulund East, was trying to book a hotel in Pune through an online travel portal on February 6 around 1 pm.

After paying Rs 5,602 via Google Pay for the booking, he received a message stating that his reservation was incomplete and required updating. He then searched online for the travel portal's customer care number and found a mobile number.

When he called the number, the person on the other end claimed to be a customer care executive and asked him to continue the conversation on WhatsApp.

He subsequently received messages from another number under the name "Rahul Kumar Mishra". The caller first asked him to transfer Rs 10 as a verification amount and later instructed him to share his debit card details to process a refund.

Believing he was speaking to authorised personnel, the victim shared the details. Within hours, three transactions, Rs 10, Rs 1,90,005.90 and Rs 85,000, were debited from his account, amounting to Rs 2,75,015.90.

Realising he had been duped, he approached the police.

The accused include the unidentified caller, the WhatsApp user posing as Rahul Kumar Mishra, the person who allegedly created the fake booking interface, and the beneficiaries of the siphoned funds. Police have registered a case under relevant sections of the IT Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and have begun an investigation.