Cab Chaos: Online Ride Booking Scam Swindles Udupi Man of Rs 4.1 Lakh

Udupi, India - A man from West Bengal lost Rs 4.1 lakh after falling victim to an online cab booking scam, authorities reported on Tuesday.

On November 7, he also attempted to book a car rental service in Udupi by accessing a website he had discovered via Google. The website, Shakti Car Rentals, appeared legitimate and, therefore, he utilized that website to make a booking.

Soon after, Rohit Sharma, an individual, contacted him and requested him to visit the website of Shakti Car Rentals and register by paying a small amount of Rs 150 as registration fees. He was convinced by his counsel and attempted to pay through his Canara Bank debit card. He did not find the One-Time Password that was supposed to be received in return; this raised his suspicion.

Undeterred, he tried the transaction with his State Bank of India (SBI) credit card, but the OTP did not get verified. Rohit Sharma soothed his worried mind by reassuring him that the driver would take money directly from him when the car came, and so seemed to be giving him a free hand on non-obligation to make an online payment right away.

About 1:47 pm, the victim received a bank notification stating that the SBI credit card was debited for Rs 3.3 lakh and the Canara Bank debit card was debited by Rs 80,056. Altogether, the amount frauded from the man was Rs 4.1 lakh.

Investigations revealed that the Shakti Car Rentals site was a phishing scam to draw sensitive card information from innocent users. The victim was easily conned into entering his card details in some fake payment page, which only went to aggravate the unauthorized transactions.

This case goes to the extent of revealing the rapidly growing risk of online scams in the digital world. Experts have warned consumers to be keen when making their reservations online and extremely watchful of fraudsters.

How to Avoid Online Scams

Scrutinize and Validate Legitimacy of the Websites: Examine the URL of the website and make sure that it is secure, reputable, and genuine. Use reputed online transaction platforms.

Validate Contact Details: If contacted by some unknown person about making a payment, validate the identity and the genuineness of his demand before providing any personal information to anyone.

Note of Red Flags: Be cautious if any unusual payment process takes place, such as requests for special payments and no OTP even during transactions.

Secure Online Transactions: Use secure payment mechanism and opt for two-factor authentication wherever applicable to add an extra layer of security.

Report Scam: If you feel that you have fallen into the scam, report the incident immediately to local authorities and also to the bank. This would help minimize potential loss.

The authorities say they are still investigating the case and calling on the public to be extra vigilant and to report any questionable activities regarding online transactions.

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