A 45-year-old woman from Kashimira became the latest target of a search engine scam after she lost Rs. 49,000 to a fake website. In her complaint to the police, the woman stated that she was searching for the contact details of a reputed Haridwar-based ayurvedic healing centre for the treatment of her parents who were suffering from various age-related illnesses.
While using the search engine, the woman was directed to a website where she found a mobile number. The woman called the number and discussed her father’s kidney ailment and joints pain suffered by her mother. The person speaking from the other side claimed to be a volunteer of the ayurvedic treatment and yoga centre and sought medical reports on Whatsapp.
The women sent the reports, following which she got a call stating that the concerned doctor had gone through the reports and the treatment could be started. The complainant was asked to transfer Rs.49,000 towards treatment and accommodation charges. Without checking the authenticity of the website, nor the status of the account number, the woman transferred the money. She also received a reply that the ten-day booking was confirmed.
However, when the woman spoke about this to her cousin, he raised doubts on such a booking method. True to their fears, the number and website turned out to be fake. Based on the complaint, the police have registered a case under section 420 of the IPC. Further investigations were underway.
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