A driver was duped to the tune of Rs 1.02 lakh under the pretext of buying a car from an Army officer who was being transferred to Jammu and Kashmir. The driver, Ashish Desai, 38, was told about a Facebook post where an Army man was selling a car and had also attached his identity card as a proof of authenticity, following which the deal was made. After realising that the car was never going to be delivered and he had been duped, Desai approached Malabar Hill Police and lodged a complaint.
Desai, who is employed as a driver and stays with his employer at Malabar Hill, was informed by his nephew about a Facebook post, wherein an army officer, Vishal Ghaare, wanted to sell his Mahindra Bolero car (MH-43-AT-5183) at a bargain rate for just Rs 1.10 lakh. Upon insistence, Desai agreed to buy the four-wheeler and contacted Ghaare. "In his Facebook post, Ghaare had also uploaded a photo of the RC Book and his Army Canteen's ID card as a proof of authenticity. Believing what was posted, I contacted him on June 21, but he said he would call me back as he was on his way to the duty," Desai said in his complaint.
The next day, when Ghaare called and learnt that Desai was interested in buying the car, the former said that he was selling the car as he was being deputed at Jammu and Kashmir, where the vehicle won't be of any use. He stated that the car's price was Rs 2.5 lakh. As Desai could not afford that amount, the price was fixed at Rs 1.10 lakh after a considerable bargain. When Desai asked Ghaare when could he see the vehicle, the latter told him to first wire Rs 5,000, after which he would send the car's photographs. Over the next few days, whenever Desai asked Ghaare to bring the car over, the 'army officer' would ask him to transfer the money.
Finally, Ghaare agreed to sell the car to Desai on June 28, but only after he made a series of transactions, wherein the complainant had to pay Rs 1 lakh and the remaining Rs 10,000 can be paid after getting the delivery. Desai had calmly obliged and loaned out money from his friends as he did not have the hard cash to make the instant transfers.
On June 28, however, after pretending to have reached Chembur to sell the car and later switching off his mobile phone, when Ghaare stopped entertaining Desai's call, he was convinced that he was duped and lodged a complaint with Malabar Hill police station.
Police cross checked the allegations levelled by Desai and scrutinised his bank statement, following which it was proved that Ghaare had indeed cheated the driver. Malabar Hill Police booked Ghaare under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act.
In case you are a victim of cyber fraud:
▪︎Immediately alert the local police station or call the 24x7 Cyber Helpline-- 9820810007 set up to prevent and tackle Cyber Crime.
▪︎For bank frauds, immediately alert the concerned bank, block the card and fill a dispute form. If a fraud is reported within 24 hours of crime, it becomes the responsibility of the concerned stakeholder to recover the money.
▪︎Never share your bank details, debit/credit card number, and One Time Password (OTP).
While alerting bank, keep following documents handy --
•Bank statement of the last six months
•A copy of SMSs received related to the alleged transactions
•Identity and address proof as shown in the bank records
