PANAJI: Goa police on Monday busted a multi-crore scam operated by individuals posing as hotel operators. These individuals duped unsuspecting tourists by exploiting loopholes on reputed booking platforms. Police arrested four persons from Hyderabad and Jaipur. Initial police investigation has revealed that over 500 people were duped by the fraudsters to the tune of crores of rupees, said North Goa SP Akshat Kaushal.
“This fraudulent operation, active since 2022, deceived tourists by listing non-existent properties for rent and collecting advance payments through multiple bank accounts,” he said.
Goa police recently received several complaints regarding online frauds targeting tourists. Victims reported being duped by fake villa listings on platforms such as Booking.com, where they were asked to pay advances for non-existent properties. “Efforts are on to contact the victims and formally record their complaints,” said Kaushal.
“The scam came to light following a complaint by Pankaj Dhiman, a resident of Chandigarh, who was defrauded of Rs 20,000 while attempting to book a property named Ruby Villa, Goa, on Booking.com. On arriving at the location, he discovered that the villa did not exist. Following this complaint, an FIR was registered at Anjuna police station,” said the North Goa SP.
Following a thorough investigation, four individuals — three from Hyderabad and one from Jaipur — were arrested. During interrogation, the accused persons confessed to orchestrating the scam and revealed their modus operandi. Operating from a rented room in Hyderabad, they would field calls from potential victims and use female telephone operators to build trust.
“The perpetrators exploited vulnerabilities on booking platforms to create fraudulent listings for non-existent properties. They then collected advance payments through digital payment systems linked to multiple bank accounts,” said Kaushal.
“We have arrested 37-year-old Saurabh, son of Ratan Lal Duseja, resident of Gwalior, and Sayed Ali Mukhtar, Mohd Firoz, and Mohd Azharuddin Saif, all residents of Hyderabad,” Kaushal said.
Kaushal said that the transaction did not take place through the official website. “The investigation revealed that there are two types of properties listed on the website: one verified and the second unverified. When one books an unverified property, the number of the person who manages the property is displayed. Due to the photos of these villas, customers get attracted and call those numbers for booking,” said Kaushal.
He also said that when the conversation started between the customers and fraudsters, they were able to convince the customers to pay immediately, else they may not get the booking. As the properties were so attractive based on photos and the price offered by the fraudsters, the customers ended up paying Rs 10,000-20,000. “This was their broad modus operandi,” Kaushal said, adding that the accused had been visiting Goa for the past 10 years and their families were working or doing business in Goa.
Kaushal said that the accused understood the mindset of tourists and were able to cheat them. Kaushal said that 15 bank accounts were used by the accused and most of them have been seized.
“As per our investigation so far, the accused persons were operating in Goa only,” said Kaushal.
Source Homevior.in
