Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Dozens of people in Indore, including shopkeepers and petrol pump workers, were cheated through a fake PhonePe app.
The Kanadia police have arrested two accused on Monday — Dheeraj Goyal and Suyash Parmar — who admitted to scamming over 29 people using the fake payment method.
The gang used a duplicate PhonePe app, bought from a Telegram channel, that looked exactly like the real one. It had a scanner, name, amount, PIN, and even the transaction sound. They would use it to show fake payments and collect cash from unsuspecting victims.
Police tracked the accused through CCTV footage and scooter number after a petrol pump employee, Nitin Patidar, filed a complaint. Further investigation is underway to identify more victims.
According to information, the complaint was filed by Nitin Patidar, an employee at Patidar Fuel Station. On May 22, the accused filled petrol and asked for cash, saying they had a patient admitted in a hospital. They showed a fake payment using a duplicate PhonePe app and took ₹6,000 in cash from Nitin.
Later, Nitin realised the transaction was fake. When he spoke to his friend Rohit, he shared a similar story — he had lost ₹4,500 in the same way.
Caught Through CCTV
Police checked the CCTV footage from the petrol pump and tracked the accused through their scooter number. The team, led by TI Saharsh Yadav, identified their homes and arrested both from there on Saturday.
During questioning, the accused revealed they had bought a fake PhonePe app from a Telegram channel. This app looked exactly like the real one — it had a scanner, name, amount, PIN, and even the same transaction sound. To fool the shopkeepers, they would also show a fake transaction history.
The gang had a daily routine: they would leave in the morning and visit multiple shops, showing fake payments and collecting cash.
Police are now checking for more victims and similar cases connected to them.
