Delhi: 2 held for cheating shops by fraudulent Paytm transactions
What's the story
Two men were arrested and a juvenile apprehended yesterday at Mewat (Haryana) for allegedly cheating people through Paytm. The accused, Islamuddin alias Mustkeem (20), Wasim alias Ansar (26), were both residents of Mathura district in Uttar Pradesh. Seven mobile phones, eight trolley bags, three security cameras, and other articles were recovered from the possession of the accused, said DCP (southeast) Chinmoy Biswal.
Details
Accused asked for Paytm account details acting as a customer
The matter came to light when one Vishesh Aggarwal, who ran a hardware shop in Bharat Nagar, filed a complaint at New Friends Colony police station on October-26, regarding two fraudulent-transactions of Rs. 12,999 and 1,799 from his Paytm. Aggarwal alleged that on October-22, he received a call from a man, who wished to buy something from his shop, asking for his Paytm account-details.
The trap
Delivery of mobile phone helped police nab the accused
Subsequently, the fraudulent transactions took place. During investigation, police found that the accused had bought a mobile phone after transferring the money from the victim's Paytm-account. It was revealed later that the mobile phone was to be delivered to a person near a petrol pump at Tawadu in Mewat. On October 27, the police laid a trap at Mewat and Islamuddin was nabbed there.
Information
Modus Operandi: Accused made fake calls by obtaining numbers online
During interrogation, Islamuddin disclosed that he worked for Wasim, who, along with a juvenile associate, used to make calls to people by procuring their phone numbers from Google and cheat them. At the instance of Islamuddin, Wasim and the juvenile were arrested.
Details
Accused used to target hardware shopkeepers, gym owners
Wasim disclosed that he and the juvenile used to target hardware shopkeepers and gym owners and made calls posing as customers and take the victim's Paytm details, after which they used to do online shopping through Paytm. As Paytm asks for a OTP for a transaction, they used to call the victims and convince them that the OTP number was required for making payments.