Man Pays Rs 34,000 For An iPhone, Fraudster Sends Him A Parcel Full Of Papers Instead

Cyber police at Bandra-Kurla Complex has arrested a man from Kolkata for syphoning Rs 34,000 from a 20-year-old college student who ordered an iPhone 6s on a free classified advertisement website.

Sabhyasachi Mistry uploaded the fake advertisement for the phone's sale for Rs 40,000 when it was priced twice that amount in the market in 2016. But Akshay Avsare received a parcel that contained four papers cut in the shape of a cell phone in an iPhone box on April 18, 2016, four days after he made an online payment. Mistry has duped people posting fake advertisements, police said.

Reuters/Representational Image

Police cracked the case 11 months later when they tracked down Mistry to Kestopur in Kolkata and arrested him in a week. Mistry was identified after police got in touch with the bank and got details of the fake account and place from where the money was withdrawn.

"Several debit cards of various banks and many SIM cards have been seized from Mistry. He used various accounts to get money from victims. He placed fake advertisements and duped people. He used to tell people to make an online payment and provide a bank account to transfer the amount, to get the product delivered," said a police officer.

Mumbai-based Avsare realised he was duped when he tried to contact Mistry after he received papers in the parcel.

Avsare said, "I ordered for an iPhone 6s when I came across the advertisement for Rs 40,000. When I called the person who posted the advertisement, he provided me with his bank account details and told me to pay Rs 34,000. I deposited the money in my friend's account using National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT)."

Insurance Journal/ Representational Image

Police found that Mistry used fake documents to open over a dozen accounts that he used in the fraud.

"Mistry used new bank accounts and SIMs for each fraud. He took precautions to avoid detection," said the officer.