NEW DELHI: A 25-year-old man, identified as Sharukh Khan, was arrested for cheating a customer of Rs 33,000 under the guise of booking a hotel room at a five-star property in Goa.
The accused, a resident of Nuh district in Haryana, created fraudulent websites resembling official hotel portals to lure victims.
The scam came to light when the victim filed a complaint, stating he had searched for the official website of a five-star hotel in Goa and was redirected to a fake site, a senior police officer said.
After contacting the provided number, the caller, claiming to represent the hotel, confirmed the booking and requested a 50% advance payment. However, the victim was later coerced into transferring the full amount, Rs 33,000, through UPI, under the false claim that split payments were not accepted. Upon receiving the complaint, police launched a probe using technical surveillance and financial tracking.
The investigation revealed that the payments were routed to a private merchant account, and the fraudulent website was registered with fake credentials.
The accused was traced to Mewat, Haryana, and arrested after raids were conducted in Nuh, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest), Amit Goel. Two mobile phones were seized from Khan, including one used for the fake hotel website, the officer said.
“Khan admitted to operating alone but revealed that the website links were arranged by one Naseem, who remains at large. Police are continuing their efforts to apprehend him,” the DCP said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.