2 held for cheating people on pretext of selling iPhones on discounted rates

Two men were arrested for allegedly cheating people on the pretext of selling iPhones at discounted rates on social media, police said on Saturday. The accused have been identified as Sultan (21), a resident of Fatehabad in Haryana, and Vikas (24), a resident of Patna in Bihar, they said.

A person lodged a complaint claiming that on November 28 last year, he came across an advertisement on social media about iPhone 14 Pro Max following which he sent a message showing his interest in purchasing the phone, police said.

The complainant then received a message from another ID in which a link was attached for further details. According to the instructions, the complainant ordered the phone and sent the screen shot of the order on the ID, they said.

On December 12, the complainant received a video clip mentioning the complete processing details of his order and assuring that the mobile phone will be delivered in next four to five days, police said.

The complaint also received a QR scan code and was asked to deposit Rs. 299 to dispatch the order. The victim made the payment, a senior police officer said.

On December 16, the complainant received a call that the invoice bill of his order had been forwarded to his WhatsApp number and was asked to confirm the order details, police said.

The complainant after confirming the order details, made another payment of Rs. 5,200 on the QR code. He made payments of a total of Rs. 25,265 for the order, but did not receive the phone, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Rohini) Guriqbal Singh Sidhu said.

During investigation, police found that the accused were operating from Chandigarh. A raid was conducted and Sultan was nabbed from Chandigarh Sector-20, the DCP said.

The accused disclosed that he used to post advertisements regarding iPhones at discounted prices on social media. Once he received request from the customers, he used to lure them and on the pretext of delivering the phone, take money from them through UPI payment, police said.

He neither used to deliver the mobile phone nor return the money, police said.

Based on Sultan's disclosure, his accomplice Vikas was also arrested from Chandigarh Sector-20. He used to provide bank accounts for receiving payments. Ten complaints registered at NCRP portal were also found linked with arrested persons, police said.

Sultan used to sell watches and Vikas used to work as a sweeper and later worked as a SIM vendor, they added.