NEW DELHI: A man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly cheating over 200 shopkeepers using a fake online payment application, police said. Kunal Sharma, a resident of Uttam Nagar, could cheat the shopkeepers as he was well versed with the working of such an app, they said.
Sharma used a fake application to show that he had made a payment. He never scanned QR codes but asked for a shopkeeper’s mobile phone number to pay and then sent a pre-drafted message to the number confirming payment, police said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Ingit Pratap Singh said Sharma cheated shopkeepers by offering to pay through an online app. Then instead of scanning the QR code, he asked for their mobile number attached to the app for making the payment, he said.
Later, he would generate a fake payment transaction receipt using a fake app and send a pre-drafted message that said payment made. But in reality no money was transferred to the victims’ accounts, the officer said. The matter came to light on May 28, after a shopkeeper who was duped by Sharma of `2,560 lodged a complaint at the Palam police station.
DCP Singh said, “With the help of technical surveillance, our team identified the accused and Sharma was arrested from the Palam village area.” “During interrogation, Sharma said he had cheated more than w200 shopkeepers using a spoof app,” he said.