Mumbai: Online scammers treat nothing sacred, it would seem, even the holy Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj, UP. As the grand pilgrimage enters its final week ending Feb 26, two separate cases have surfaced of aspiring pilgrims from Mumbai being cheated in their quest to participate in the world’s largest religious gathering. Be it creating fake websites or devising official-looking bank accounts, sending enticing photos of VIP tents or promising helicopter rides, the swindlers stop at nothing.
A 55-year-old businesswoman who runs a furniture showroom in Lower Parel, looking to visit for a holy dip along with five friends, ended up losing around Rs 4 lakh online. The victim fell for the scam because the money she transferred was to an account named UP State Tourism.
The complainant lodged an FIR at N M Joshi Marg police station on Monday, alleging that she was cheated of Rs 3.78 lakh. On Feb 7, she and her husband surfed online to secure a tent and flight tickets for their trip. She contacted a website Tentcitymahakumbh.org. The caller provided a brochure and sought details of the six passengers. He sent her rosy pictures and videos of VIP tents and asked her to make a payment to an account named UP State Tourism II with an IFSC code. Even as flight bookings were showing full, he promised to provide tickets.
She provided personal details, Aadhaar information, and initially paid Rs 35,000 through bank transfer, for which she received a confirmation of reservations. The fraudsters later said her transaction had failed for airline bookings, and sought more money. She paid them, and received confirmation for two VIP tents and six flight tickets. The fraudster’s WhatsApp number then became unreachable. Her friend was also reportedly duped of Rs 75,000 by the same cheat.
In a similar case, Cuffe Parade police arrested five residents of Bihar for allegedly creating a fake website promising Maha Kumbh helicopter rides. The accused are Mukesh Kumar, Saurabh Kumar, Avinash Kumar, Srushti Barnawal and Sanjitkumar Mistry. The Cuffe Parade resident who lodged this FIR of cheating told the police that she had contacted a website for Maha Kumbh helicopter rides. The respondent asked her to deposit Rs 60,652 for 26 travellers and sent her a QR code to scan. The woman despatched the money but later realised it did not go to any govt agency’s account, but to a certain Sonamuni Devi.
The next day, the website disappeared. She contacted the police, and a case was registered. The police found the money was withdrawn from an ATM in Bihar. They got CCTV footage of the accused from the ATM camera and arrested five accused one by one.
The police have been urging citizens to exercise caution when they engage in online transactions, and have been advising them to verify the authenticity of service providers before making any payments.
