Delhi: Man Arrested For Cheating People By Fake Ads On Social Media

The police have arrested a man from Rajasthan for allegedly cheating people by posting on social media fake advertisements claiming to deliver liquor at home during the COVID-19-induced lockdown and inducing them to pay for it in advance, officials said on Thursday.

Mohammad Nasir used to work at a cyber cafe in Rajasthan's Bharatpur and learnt to upload fake advertisements on social media in order to sell articles at cheaper rates during the lockdown and receive online payment for them, they said.

The police said two other associates of Nasir were arrested last year in connection with the case.

During the probe, the duo disclosed that Nasir was the mastermind of the racket and the cheated money in their account was deposited online by him.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) R P Meena said, "With the help of technical surveillance, our team traced the location of the accused. On Wednesday, the team was sent to his native village and Nasir was arrested from Gopalgarh village in Rajasthan's Bharatpur."

One mobile phone and 10 debit cards have been recovered from him, police said.

The matter came to light last year after one of the victims approached the police with a complaint, alleging that in May, while surfing Facebook, he saw an advertisement claiming to deliver liquor to homes even during the COVID pandemic, the senior official said.

When he contacted the given mobile number, he was asked to transfer Rs 4,000 for two bottles of liquor. When the delivery was not made, he asked them to refund his money. The accused then asked the complainant to scan a QR Code to receive money. However, instead of getting his money back, Rs 20,000 was deducted from his account, police said.