Cybercriminals have cheated a businessman who wanted to buy an electric scooter online.
The 55-year-old director of Biocare Garment Processor in Kumbalgodu Industrial Area approached the cybercrime police to track down the criminals who cheated him of Rs 1.05 lakh.
The complainant said he was doing a search online for details of an electric scooter on March 10 when he came across the website.
The website provided a mobile number for customers to book the vehicle. The complainant called the number and was informed that he would be sent the details of the vehicle along with the invoice on WhatsApp.
Accordingly, he was sent details of the scooter, Ola S1 Pro, priced at Rs 1.4 lakh. The invoice also stated that he could avail a discount of Rs 35,000.
The complainant was asked to pay the price in full — Rs 1.05 lakh — and was provided a bank account number for the transaction. He transferred the money on March 11, in three transactions. He was promised that the scooter would be delivered on March 13. But when he called again, he was asked to pay another Rs 20,000 which, he was told, was a “subsidy” that would be reimbursed.
Suspecting foul play, he contacted city police commissioner C H Pratap Reddy and filed a complaint.
A senior police officer said attempts were made to block the account but the money had already been withdrawn. A case has been registered for cheating and under the Information Technology Act.