Mumbai: Posing as neurologist online, fraudster dupes man of Rs 1 lakh

Ashok Sonigra

A Mira Road resident was cheated of almost Rs 1 lakh while trying to book an appointment with a neurologist online. However, due to the timely intervention of the Kasturba Marg police, who managed to freeze the bank account in which the money got transferred, the complainant managed to recover Rs 77,000.

The victim, Ashok Sonigra, 39, who runs the New Madora Times watch shop at Kasturba Road in Borivli East, told mid-day that his wife Mamta, 37, who suffers from migraines, needed to consult a neurologist.

Sonigra said, "Since the past few years, Mamta's health has been deteriorating. I consulted many doctors and they recommended a particular neurologist, who has a clinic at Borivli West. On November 29, I looked for his details on Google and dialled the number that popped up. The person who received the call told me that it was impossible to book an appointment that day and I would be only able to get one the next day. However, I had to pay a R10 fee and fill out an online form."

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"I filled out the form and submitted details about my debit card and made the payment, but I didn't get an appointment. The next morning, R99,900 was deducted in two different transactions. I immediately contacted the Kasturba Marg police and they froze the account of the fraudster and recovered R77,000. I then contacted the bank, also but its officials told me that I needed to file an FIR to get back the stolen amount. So, on December 23, I registered the FIR against the unknown fraudster," Sonigra said.

PSI Sanjay Bore of the Kasturba Marg police station said, "The incident occurred on November 30. Posing as the neurologist, the fraudster had created a fake web page which had contact numbers and addresses. We are searching for the culprit. Many conmen are making fake pages to dupe people who turn to Google for contact details."

He advised citizens to always call landline numbers and not mobile numbers. "If anyone requests you to make online payments in advance, always consider them as fraudsters," he added.

Despite repeated efforts, mid-day could not get in touch with the neurologist at the time of going to press.