In Mumbai, housing portals new target for cyber criminals, customer duped after posting ad to rent flat

There are at least two FIRs registered in the past seven days where people putting up advertisements for giving their house on rent have been duped by cyber criminals posing as interested parties.

After targeting matrimonial and job portals, cyber criminals in the city have found a new target — those advertising on housing portals. (Representational image via Canva)

AFTER TARGETING matrimonial and job portals, cyber criminals in the city have found a new target — those advertising on housing portals. There are at least two FIRs registered in the past seven days where people putting up advertisements for giving their house on rent have been duped by cyber criminals posing as interested parties.

In the latest case, the Pant Nagar police registered an FIR against an unidentified accused who approached a 36-year-old woman claiming to be interested in taking her house on rent. The victim had uploaded an advertisement on a real estate portal on March 9 for giving her Rabale house on rent. She received a call on the same day by a person who identified himself as Bajrang. He claimed to be an Army officer and said that since he was being posted to Mumbai, he was looking for a place to rent. She told him that he would have to pay Rs 60,000 deposit and monthly rent of Rs 19,000.

The accused then told her that as per Army process, she would need to make him a payment of Rs 5 so that he would get payment details. She did the needful and he returned the money on the same number.

Later he told her that even for the Rs 79,000 which he needed to pay for deposit and first month rent, she would need to make the payment first, following which he would return Rs 1.58 lakh — both the amount she paid and the amount he owed her.

Initially, while she was hesitant, he told her that in Army there are processes which they have to follow. She ended up paying Rs 79,000 to him. When he demanded Rs 10,000 more as processing fees, she got suspicious.

She then called her bank and checked if there was any such process to which the bank employee told her that it may be a fraud. Following this when she called up the number again, no one answered. Realising that she had been duped, she approached the local police station which registered an FIR.

An officer said that earlier this week another FIR was registered at Ghatkopar police station where a person who had put up an ad for putting up his Nashik home was duped in a similar manner.

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