A 26-year-old man from Haryana was duped of Rs 90,518 by an autorickshaw driver who drove him from Andheri to Bandra. The scam took place when the man, who is nearsighted and had left his glasses at a restaurant, handed over his phone to the driver for an online payment.
He later reported the incident to the police, leading to the registration of an FIR. The fraudulent act happened in the early hours of April 10, as the man was on his way back from dining out, as per Midday.
As per a report by Midday, the auto driver initially asked for Rs 1,500 for the trip. Though the man hesitated, he eventually agreed to the fare. Due to not having his spectacles, he asked the driver to carry out the payment through Google Pay and even shared his password.
Taking advantage of this, the driver transferred Rs 90,518 to one Mohammed Furkan Shaikh. The money was subsequently distributed to three or four other accounts for withdrawal.
The following morning, the victim checked his phone and realised that a total of Rs 90,518 had been fraudulently transferred.
He promptly visited his bank and lodged a complaint. Bank officials informed him that the amount had been sent to multiple accounts and withdrawn.
The man, who had travelled to Chandigarh for some work, filed a police complaint on his return to Mumbai on May 22.
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“We have confirmed that the money was transferred from the complainant’s account to Shaikh, who in turn transferred it to multiple accounts. We are working with the bank to obtain details and are tracing the autorickshaw. CCTV footage along the route is also being examined. We are taking the help of the cyber team to zero in on the accused," Midday quoted a police official as saying.
The officer also mentioned that an FIR has been registered, and efforts are underway to locate the auto driver.