Kolkata: When Kolkata-based businessman Samir Das (name changed on request) received a phone call with a promise to deliver his favourite brand of liquor at his door steps, he could not hold back his excitement.
The caller asked for his bank details and Samir was promised that his beverage of choice would be delivered within an hour at his south Kolkata home.
Craving for alcohol for days as all shops are closed because of the Covid-19 lockdown, the phone call came as much respite for Samir. Without giving the matter a second thought, he shared his bank information and within a few minutes he had lost a hefty amount of money.
Like Samir, there are many in the city who have been duped with the same modus operandi over the past few days, and some of the victims have lodged complaints with the cyber cell of the Kolkata Police.
A probe has revealed that the racket has been operating from a remote village in Jharkhand's Jamtara district. The fraudsters know that amid the coronavirus crisis it would be relatively simple to dupe affluent people desperate for some alcohol, say officials.
Ever since the lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, most of the states have gone dry with administrations banning the sale of liquor.
Taking advantage of the situation, the online fraudsters belonging to the ‘Jamtara gang’ swung into action and have so far managed to dupe several people of about Rs 2.5 lakh by promising home delivery of liquor bottles in Kolkata.
Speaking to the News18, point commissioner of police (crime) Murlidhar Sharma, said, “Yes, we have received a few complaints. The fraudsters are putting up advertisements on Facebook with their contact numbers. When people are calling them (in some cases fraudsters are also making random calls), they ask for their credit card details and dupe the people. So far they have cheated victims of about Rs 2.5 lakh. Preliminary inquiry revealed that it is the handiwork of the ‘Jamtara gang’ in Jharkhand. We got some details and we are hopeful that soon they will be arrested.”
In February, Kolkata Police arrested four online fraudsters belonging to the same outfit for duping an elderly citizen of Rs 88 lakh in June 2019.
Seven people were arrested in the case. It was found that the accused had opened as many as 150 bank accounts with forged documents across the country to siphon off the money.
Comments
0 comment