Mumbai resident loses Rs 6 lakh in online fraud, accused held

A resident of Mumbai lost Rs 6 lakh to a fraudster who tricked him into sharing his OTP for online transaction under the pretext of selling him an SUV, police said on Saturday.

The accused, identified as Asif Khan (24), has been arrested from Rajasthan by Mumbai Police.

According to a Matunga police official, Khan, posing as a CRPF personnel, had posted an advertisement on a popular portal to sell an SUV.

When the complainant contacted Khan, the latter sent him his photographs in uniform and an "identity card" to gain his trust, he said.

"Khan then asked the complainant to send him Rs 100 on his (Khan's) Paytm account. After that Khan called up the complainant and s asked him to share the OTP for the transaction claiming that there was some mistake in the transfer of money," he said.

After the complainant shared the OTP, an amount of Rs 6 lakh got debited from his bank account.

The cyber cell of Matunga police traced the online trail to Rajasthan's Pahadi village in Bharatpur district, the official said.

Police tracked down Khan with the help of the location of the mobile phone tower in the area and arrested him.

Police are hopeful about detecting more such cases.