Online villa booking scam busted, 4 arrested

Staff Reporter

Panaji

The North Goa police have busted a multi-crore scam targeting tourists through fake online villa/accommodation  listings and arrested four people in
the case. 

The police said that over 500 people have been cheated by the scammers.  

The arrested four accused are Sayed Ali Mukhtar, Mohd. Firoz, Mohd. Azharuddin Saif and Saurabh.  Three of the cheaters are from Hyderabad, while one is from Jaipur.

Perpetrators exploited vulnerabilities of the people intending to visit Goa through booking platforms to create fraudulent listings of non-existent properties.

“They then collected advance payments through digital payment mode linked to multiple bank accounts,” North Goa superintendent of police Akshat Kaushal said.

Initial investigations have revealed that over 500 people have fallen prey to the scam.

 “Efforts are underway to contact the victims and formally record their complaints,” Kaushal said. 

The accused confessed to orchestrating the scam and revealed their modus operandi. Operating from a rented room in Hyderabad, they would handle calls from potential customers and use woman telephone operators to build up trust, he said.

According to the police, the accused have been coming to Goa for  the last 10 years, and have been engaged in small businesses. The father of one of the accused runs a photo studio in Calangute while another accused had taken a hotel property on lease.

“The rates  offered were so attractive and low  that customers used to call for booking, and that is when the accused would create an impression that if some advance is not paid then  accommodations would be booked by others. Following which customers would pay Rs 10,000 to  Rs 20,000 to secure a deal,” Kaushal said.

The scam came to light following a complaint filed by Pankaj Dhiman, a resident of Chandigarh, who was defrauded of Rs 20,000 after he booked a property named Ruby Villa, Goa on booking.com. Upon arriving at the location mentioned in the website, he discovered that the villa did not exist, Kaushal said, adding that an FIR under Section 318 (4) of the BNS, 2023, was registered at the Anjuna police station.

“Our team uncovered the multi-crore scam operated by the scammers posing as hotel operators, who duped unsuspecting tourists by exploiting loopholes on renowned booking platforms such as booking.com,” said the senior police official.  

The fraudulent operation had been active since 2022.  The accused deceived tourists by listing non-existent properties for rent and collecting advance payments through multiple bank accounts.

Stating that the Goa police recently received several complaints regarding an online fraud targeting tourists, he said, “Victims reported being duped by fake villa listings on platforms such as booking.com, where they were asked to pay advances for non-existent properties.”

The team that unearthed  the scam comprised Mayank Dubey, Arun Balgotra, both IPS officers, PI Suraj Gawas, PSI Sahil Warang, PSI Ramesh Harijan and PSI Sai all from  the Anjuna police station  and police constables Raj Parab and Vidya of the Calangute police station.