What began as a simple attempt to sell an old sofa online ended in a major financial setback for a 40 year old man from Lucknow. Ram Mohan Yadav, who expected to receive Rs 14,000 for the furniture, was instead cheated of almost Rs 2 lakh by cyber fraudsters.
According to the complaint filed, Yadav was contacted by a man introducing himself as Nitant Kumar Singh, who posed as a buyer. Singh promised to transfer the amount digitally and sent Yadav a QR code. When Yadav scanned it, Rs 14,000 appeared on his screen, but instead of being credited, his account was debited by Rs 99,665. Before he could react, Singh repeated the process, taking away another Rs 98,000.
The online fraudster allegedly claimed to be the owner of Royal Furniture Mahal and kept calling Yadav to gain his trust. By the time Yadav realised something was wrong, the money had already disappeared. A case has been registered under Section 66D of the Information Technology Act, and the cybercrime cell has started its investigation.
In another online scam case, Mohammad Furqan became a victim while searching for a neurologist’s contact number online. He clicked on a link sent by a caller posing as hospital staff, after which multiple OTPs were generated on his phone. Soon, Rs 1.05 lakh was withdrawn from his account through unauthorised transactions.
Police say both cases reflect the growing menace of online fraud, where criminals exploit urgency, trust and lack of awareness. Fraudsters often use QR codes, fake websites and cloned phone numbers to deceive unsuspecting people.
Cyber experts are warning the public not to scan QR codes or click on links from unknown numbers. They advise verifying transactions only through official apps and avoiding the sharing of personal or banking details over calls.
As investigations continue, authorities stress the need for stronger digital literacy campaigns to protect citizens from such online scams. For victims like Yadav and Furqan, however, the financial losses have already caused deep distress.
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