In a unfortunate incident, a 48-year-old man from Gangadham, Bibwewadi, identified as Piyush Surendra Jamgaonkar, became a victim of online scams amounting to over Rs 4.50 lakh during his trip planning to the revered Jagannath Puri shrine in Orrisa. On December 25, 2023, at approximately 11:30 PM, Jamgaonkar, employed in a company in Hadapsar, and his wife had decided to visit the Jagannath Puri temple on December 30, 2023. Seeking affordable lodging for devotees (Bhakt Nivas) in Puri, the couple stumbled upon the website neeladribhaktaniwas.com while searching for accommodations on Google. The website provided a contact number for room reservations, leading Jamgaonkar to initiate contact. On December 26, 2023, at around 10:12 AM, Jamgaonkar received a response on WhatsApp from the provided number, quoting a room tariff of Rs 1500 per day and sharing photos of the accommodations. Subsequently, at 12:15 PM, he called the number to book a room for December 30-31, 2023.
The person on the other end advised him to pay the room tariff in advance and offered a discount if he used his credit card. Around 8:30 PM on the same day, Jamgaonkar received a call from the number, requesting his credit card details for the booking. After providing the details, he received an OTP for a Rs 3064.08 transaction. Believing the transaction had failed, he provided a new OTP, only to discover a shocking transaction message of Rs 4.50 lakh. Tensed by the message, Jamgaonkar insisted that the caller return his money. In response, the caller requested Jamgaonkar to share his debit card number for a refund. Sensing the scam, Jamgaonkar refused to disclose his debit card details. Without hesitation, he promptly dialed 1930 and filed an online complaint to report the fraudulent activity. An FIR was registered on January 30, citing sections 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code, along with sections 66(C) and 66(d) of the Information Technology Act at the Market Yard police station. The investigation against the unknown accused is currently underway.