Luck runs out for man who used fake message app to dupe people

New Delhi: A 24-year-old man who used fake message generator application to dupe many people has been arrested from Mayur Vihar on Monday.

The accused used to call the sellers of costly gadgets who had given their advertisements on shopping platform OLX and after finalizing the price used to get the delivery of the gadget by showing or forwarding the fake message.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ishwar Singh said that in April 2017, a new application "False Text Message" was launched on the internet and the same was adopted by the present accused as his latest tool.

"He used to show fake text message from the bank regarding debit of a particular amount from his account and transfer of the same in the account of the target and get the delivery of goods from victims on OLX," Singh said.

One complainant Nisha Gajwani filed a complaint alleging the accused contacted her over mobile phone and visited her house for purchasing her laptop after seeing her advertisement at the online portal of OLX. He showed the complainant a message of transfer of Rs 45,000 in her bank account and took away her laptop. Later on, the complainant came to know that the amount was not credited to her account and message showed to her was fake.

Police said that during interrogation, the accused claimed that he cheated his girl friend of her cash and jewellry articles on one or the other pretext and deserted them.

Accused further disclosed that since many cases of cheating had been registered against him, he was planning to escape to the US.

"Initially, he was arrested by PS Hazaratganj, Lucknow in 2011 in a theft case. After released on bail, the parents of accused got him admitted in HIMT College for Merchant Navy Training at Chennai in October 2011, but he left the institution in January 2012 and came back to Lucknow and starter petty gambling," police said.

The father of accused used to rebuke him for his misdeeds.