With increasing online payments, there is always an attached fear of fraud while doing it as was recently evident when a disabled autorickshaw driver was duped of Rs 23,400 when a woman made a fake UPI payment using the mobile app PhonePe in Bengaluru.
A 58-year-old man named Shivakumar VH, who reportedly lost his right leg to gangrene during the pandemic, was on his way to meet a friend when a woman approached him. She asked him for a ride to a location near the place he was meeting his friend. Since he was also on the same route, he agreed to drop her, said a news report.
“Around 9.45 am, I was talking to one of my friends who owed me money. I asked him to come near PES College in Hanumanthnagar and pay me. When I was on the phone, a woman in her 20s approached me and asked me to take her near PES College. Since I had to meet my friend, I readily agreed. She asked me if I had PhonePe,” Shivakumar told The Times of India.
While on the way, the autorickshaw driver was talking to his friend on the phone about a money-related matter. And the woman overheard his conversation, and in the middle of the drive, she asked him for his PhonePe number.
“My friend was supposed to pay me Rs 25,000. She overheard our conversation and asked for my PhonePe number again when we reached near Nayandahalli. I thought it was because she wanted to pay the auto fare, so I gave her the number,” he said.
When they arrived at the location, the driver met the friend he was supposed to get money from. The woman didn’t leave and came up to the driver after he received the cash from his friend. The woman requested the driver for the cash and explained to him that she needed it to pay her college fees. She assured the driver that she would immediately refund the cash through PhonePe.
“When we were near the college, my friend handed me Rs 25,000 and left. I counted the money in her presence. She asked me, ‘Uncle, do you need this money?’ I didn’t understand why, but I said yes. She then explained that she had to pay the college fee, and since the college didn’t accept digital payments, she needed the money as she didn’t have cash or a debit card,” he revealed.
The driver agreed to help but asked her to transfer the money online first. The woman agreed and even showed a confirmation message on PhonePe indicating a payment transfer of Rs 23,400, after which the driver handed over the cash to her.
“I asked the woman to transfer the money first, and only after receiving the transfer would I give her the cash. She asked for Rs 23,400 and acted as if she was making the payment. Displaying her mobile screen, she showed me that she had transferred Rs 23,500, which included the auto fare, and then took the cash from me. Before I could verify the message, she was about to leave. Realising the need for confirmation, I requested her to stay as I had yet to receive the confirmation message. She provided me with her mobile number and urged me to call her if any issue arose. I took a photograph of her with my mobile phone, but she hastily crossed the road and entered the college premises,” he shared.
However, when he rechecked his bank account, he discovered he had not received any payment. After that, he realised that he was scammed, but due to his disability, the driver could not chase the woman. He then went ahead and filed a police complaint against the woman. Later, a case was registered against her.
