MUMBAI: A software engineer from Surat who lost his job in London during the pandemic was arrested on Thursday for allegedly duping online several shoppers of at least Rs 1 crore by creating a fake shopping website. The accused, Ashish BipinAhir (32), was in deep debt and took to cybercrime to clear his dues, said the police.
The post-graduate in software applications from an institute in London allegedly duped over 22,000 people on social media platforms. Of these, 90% are women who fell victim to Ahir’s fake website — ‘shopiiee.com’. The name of this fake website is identical to some genuine portals which deal in women’s garments, imitation jewellery, dress material and other ware.
Ahire was nabbed from Surat after a woman from Mumbai lodged a complaint of being cheated of Rs 2,400, said officials of the cyber crime police which has initiated a drive against fake shopping websites. He has been booked for cheating, forgery under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act, said deputy commissioner of police (Cyber) Rashmi Karandikar. He has been sent to police custody.
Ahir’s arrest comes close on the heels of the drive launched against fake shopping portals. Last week six people, including a woman, were arrested for duping a public servant of Rs 3.70 lakh.
The police have identified a dozen fake sites that dupe buyers with offers at throwaway prices and cheat them. “These sites are on Facebook and other social media. They offer huge discounts but after one pays for a product, it is never delivered to the buyer,” said Karandikar.
The police have advised people to opt for ‘cash on delivery’ while shopping online.