Hyderabad: A chartered accountant who posted an advertisement to sell his used bicycle on an e-commerce site was duped by cyber fraudsters, reportedly to the tune of Rs 6 lakh. The CA from Gachibowli had recently posted the bicycle with a price tag of Rs 3,500 and immediately received a call from an unidentified person showing interest.
Police said the duo negotiated on a price and the fraudster told the victim that he would send a QR code to his phone, which he had to scan to receive the advance payment. At first when the CA scanned the code, Rs 2 lakh were debited from his bank account. When he informed the same to the fraudster, he said he would resend Rs 2 lakh and the advance money now and asked the victim to rescan the code.
When he did, another Rs 2 lakh was deducted from the account. The victim called back again, and the fraudster said it was a technical glitch, and asked him to scan the QR code again, for the third consecutive time. Rs 2 lakh was deducted for the third time, making it a total of Rs 6 lakh. When the victim tried calling, the fraudster’s mobile was switched off.
The CA, who realised that he was cheated, approached the Cyberabad Cybercrime cell and lodged a complaint. A case was booked and investigation is on.