FPJ Cyber Secure: Retired Police Officer Tries To Buy Dry Fruit Online, Loses ₹31,000 In Scam

Mumbai: Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Dnyandev Wankhede, the father of Indian Revenue Service officer, Sameer Wankhede, on Sunday lost ₹31,019 to cyber fraudsters while trying to buy dry fruits online.

According to an FIR filed at Oshiwara police station on Sunday, Wankhede, 70, residing in Andheri West, on October 23 came through an advertisement of dry fruits on Facebook. The advertisement provided the mobile number of the seller Ajit Bora and mentioned his address as Turbhe.

Wankhede ordered almonds, nuts, figs and walnuts worth ₹2000. Hours later, the complainant received a call from another number, stating that his parcel was ready but was blocked due to GST, requiring more time for delivery.

How the victim was duped

After waiting for a while, Wankhede contacted Bora and cancelled the order and requested a refund of his money. Bora asked Wankhede to submit codes on Google Pay and provided three different codes. The complainant followed the instructions and immediately received notifications that ₹22,000 and ₹4,999 were debited from his bank account. He later received more such notifications.

Realising that he had been cheated, Wankhede filed a case against Bora under sections 419 (cheating), and 420 (cheating and dishonestly) of the Indian Penal Code along with section 66(d) of the Information Technology Act.