Youth loses Rs 22,000 to fake cellphone deal

PUNE: A 22-year-old Kothrud resident fell prey to fraudulent online advertisement on Sunday and lost Rs22,000.

Vivek Gaur was interested in a mobile phone that was put up on an online marketplace. “I contacted the seller, who claimed to be a personnel with Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB),” Gaur told TOI.

The seller explained to Gaur that he had bought the mobile phone only recently, but was forced to sell it as it was declared incompatible by his workplace. “He sent me receipts of a shopping website, which convinced me. I struck a deal to buy the phone for Rs22,000,” he said.


The man told Gaur to come near the airport on Sunday. “I reached the spot at noon and called him. On his instructions, I sent him a picture of mine,” Gaur recalled.

The suspect told Gaur that he would send someone to deliver the phone, but first asked for Rs4,000 in advance through Paytm. “When I asked for identification, he sent me a picture of his PAN card and his identity card. Once I transferred the money, he told me to wait,” Gaur said.

Sometime later, Gaur got a call from another person. “This ‘delivery boy’ told that the ‘army office’ was not releasing the phone despite the advance and told me to pay the remainder. I called up the seller, who put the delivery boy on a conference call and scolded him. The other man stuck to his words, so I sent the rest through Paytm,” Gaur added.

The seller then changed tactics. “He told me the money was stuck in his wallet as I sent it in one shot. He told me to send Rs22,000 again, in instalments, and told me that the delivery boy would return Rs22,000 to me,” Gaur said.

A policeman standing nearby overheard the entire exchange and told Gaur that he was getting duped, once he heard the full story. “He told me to go to the airport police station,” Gaur said.

The ID card (copy with TOI) bore the following details — SSB 61st battalion, Bhairabkunda, Assam; the man’s address was listed in Samba district, Jammu & Kashmir. The PAN card also bore the same name and photograph.

Gaur submitted a complaint application at the cybercrime cell in Shivajinagar. “The application will be forwarded to the police station concerned to register an offence. Our probe is on,” a police officer said.