Mumbai: Fake ‘JJ Hospital doctor’ pulls off three-party phone scam; Rs 95,000 siphoned off

The accused first contacted an OLX seller, Siddharth, who had listed an iPhone 17 Pro for sale. Almost simultaneously, he called the shop owner and offered to sell the iPhone for Rs 95,000 — well below its market price of around Rs 1.3 lakh — promising to later purchase a Samsung Fold 7 from the shop. Tempted by the offer and future business promise, the shop owner agreed. 

Brother ruse

To make the deal appear genuine, the fraudster claimed the iPhone was with his “brother” in Dadar East, and instructed the shop owner to collect it from him and transfer the payment. The “brother” was, actually, Siddharth — neither party knew the other. Acting on these instructions, he collected the phone and transferred the amount to a QR code.

The fraud came to light when Siddharth said he never received the money. By then, the caller had vanished. Police said this is classic three-party middleman fraud. “By posing as a doctor, he gained trust, prevented discussion about payment, and diverted the amount through a QR code,” an officer told mid-day.

Case snapshot

Fraud type: Three-party middleman scam
Amount: Rs 95,000
Platform used: OLX

Victim

Age: 45
Residence: Bhayandar
Business: Telecom shop, Bhavani Shankar Road, Dadar West

Phone seller

Name: Siddharth
Location: Parsi Colony, Dadar East

Modus operandi

>> The accused contacted two unrelated parties separately
>> Posed as a JJ Hospital doctor to gain trust
>> Shared his own QR code to divert payment
>> Disappeared after transfer

Timeline

Feb 22: Calls made to seller and shop owner
Feb 23: Phone collected; R95,000 transferred

Case details

Dadar police have registered a cheating case under BNS Section 318(4) and are tracing the mobile numbers used in the fraud

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