Online fraudster dupes people with fake bookings at Green Village resort in Mumbai

MUMBAI, (PTI): An offence has been registered against an unidentified person for allegedly duping people by linking his phone number to the website of a city-based resort and taking money from them online for bookings, police said on Monday.

Based on a complaint lodged by the resort, the police registered a case under section 420 (cheating) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act, an official said.

Proprietors of Green Village Resort based in the western suburb of Malwani approached the police after many people started arriving at the facility claiming to have made a booking, he said.

Investigations revealed that the accused allegedly linked his phone number to the website of the resort and started taking bookings.

On searching for the resort online, people found the fraudster’s phone number listed as contact, the official said.

The fraudster had allegedly charged people anywhere between Rs 2,000 and Rs 90,000 for bookings in the last 15 days, he said.

The resort has since stopped taking bookings online and has instead urged patrons to visit the facility and not make payments online, the official said. (PTI)

Editor’s Note: We had reported about this online fraud about two weeks ago.