A 51-year-old Panvel resident, who had already lost his job during the lockdown, fall victim to an online fraud after he put all the details to a job portal for a job. The man lost a total of Rs 88,552 while paying a small of Rs 100 for the registration to the job website.
A case of cheating under section 420 and 34 of IPC and 66 (E) of IT Act registered at the Panvel City police station.
Gangaram Namdev Mali, a resident of Panvel had lost his job in a chemical factory in Taloja during the lockdown. In order to get a job, he put his profiles on a well-known job portal.
Police said that Mali got a call on September 16 around 3 pm from a mobile number and the person introduced as Harshila Mehta from the job portal. First, she confirmed Mali that weather he was searching for a job or not. After Mali admitted, she sent a link to Mali’s mobile number wherein he was asked to fill a form, providing bank details, and asked to pay Rs 100 for registration.
However, the moment Mali provided all the details, Rs 4586 was deducted from his account and he received a message from the bank. “When Mali called Mehta and asked to return the excess money, she said that he did not need to worry, as she was sending another link where he had to click on refund and he would get back his money,” said an official from Panvel city police. However, the moment he clicked the link, again he received an OTP from the bank, and the moment he entered the OTP as asked by the accused, he lost Rs 23,345. The process was repeated two more times and Rs 20,765 and Rs 39,865 respectively. “He lost a total of Rs 88,552 from his bank account,” added the official.
When Mali called the number, another man identified as Rahul Arora received the call and later disconnected. Despite his repeated attempt, they did not receive his call.
