Bengaluru: A 24-year-old private-sector employee lost a staggering Rs 21.1 lakh after an online search for a rental property in Banaswadi led her into a carefully orchestrated scam.Two fraudsters allegedly posed as the property owner and society manager, repeatedly demanding money on various pretexts, including a visiting pass, verification charges, rent, security deposit, and “refundable” fees. Trusting the purported rental deal, the woman continued making payments, only to realise she had fallen victim to a massive financial fraud.According to the complaint filed by Prerana (name changed), she contacted a person regarding a rental property listed on a real estate platform on Sept 25. The post had details of the property along with photographs. The person later called and introduced himself as property owner Dr Ameya. He told Prerana that a visiting pass was required and that Rs 22,000 had to be paid along with identity proof to visit the property. Trusting him, she shared her ID and initially paid Rs 2,000.The following day, Dr Ameya told her that the society manager would contact her. Shortly afterwards, a person identifying himself as Vijay Kale contacted her on WhatsApp and claimed to be the society manager. Kale asked her to complete certain forms and pay Rs 28,099, saying Rs 28,000 would be refunded and Rs 299 was a machine charge. Prerana made the payment. Kale then claimed that the transaction had been made incorrectly and instructed her to make separate payments of Rs 28,000 and Rs 299, which she again paid.The demands continued under the guise of completing the rental formalities. Kale asked for rent and deposit receipts and assured her that the amounts would be refunded immediately after the procedures. She paid Rs 15,000 towards rent and Rs 2.3 lakh as deposit.She was subsequently asked to arrange a little over Rs 2.4 lakh. Since her transaction limit prevented her from making further payments, Rs 2.2 lakh was arranged from her father’s bank account, while a friend paid Rs 15,000 on her behalf. After receiving Rs 21.1 lakh in total, Kale again demanded another Rs 2.2 lakh, claiming that the visiting pass and refund process would not be completed otherwise. It was at this stage that the woman stopped making payments and realised she had been duped.Prerana immediately contacted the cyber helpline, 1930, and reported the fraud. Later, she lodged a complaint with East cybercrime police station and submitted bank statements, digital payment transaction details, along with screenshots of WhatsApp conversations and calls, details of the persons involved, mobile numbers and portal property information. Her friend has separately reported the fraudulent transaction to the Telangana cybercrime authorities.She said Dr Ameya used mobile no. 8076759133 and Vijay Kale used no. 8882486410. The transactions and communications took place between 10.43 pm on Sept 25 and 2.31 pm on Sept 26. A case has been registered under the Information Technology Act and Section 318 (cheating) of BNS.
