PANAJI
In a major crackdown against fake accommodation bookings, North Goa police have busted a gang of four cybercriminals from Gwalior and Hyderabad, who allegedly duped more than 500 tourists by offering purported bookings at high-end villas and hotels at discounted prices.
The police estimate the accused “ Saurabh, 37 of Gwalior; and Sayed Ali Mukhtar, Mohd Firoz and Mohd Azharuddin Saif, all three from Hyderabad defrauded victims of over one crore rupees since 2022. All are arrested with police freezing some bank accounts and the process of seizing other properties.
At a press conference at Police headquarters on Monday, Superintendent of Police (North Goa) Akshat Kaushal said the accused impersonated hotel operators and exploited vulnerabilities in renowned platforms such as Booking.com by listing non-existent properties at attractive rates. They collected advance payments through digital payment systems linked to multiple bank accounts.
“The scam targeted unsuspecting tourists looking for high-end properties at discounted rates. Victims would pay advance amounts, only to find the listed properties were either fake or didn’t exist. We identified 15 such bank accounts, most of which are frozen...” Kaushal said.
The scam came to the fore during a probe into a Chandigarh-based tourist Pankaj Dhiman's complaint that alleged he was defrauded of Rs 20,000 while booking “Ruby Villa” on Booking.com. Upon arriving in Goa, he realized the property was fictitious. The Anjuna police registered a case.
The SP explained that call record analysis indicated that over 500 persons were likely scammed. The accused used specific phone numbers for bookings, which added to their anonymity. “The scale of the operation, how many victims actually did the payment and the number of victims is under investigation,” Kaushal added.
Kaushal further confirmed that while fake properties were posted on the sites either sourced from YouTube or picked from outside Goa, these accused also managed to take payments of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 to confirm the booking.
The officer revealed that the accused are familiar with Goa. In one case, his father runs a photo studio in Calangute while another has been managing a leased hotel property. “They understood the psyche of tourists and crafted their offers to match expectations giving luxury at discounted prices,” Kaushal said.
The gang preyed on tourists’ fear of missing out on a good deal pressuring them to make advance payments. “The modus operandi involved creating urgency. Victims were told the property might no longer be available if they didn’t make the payment immediately,” Kaushal said.
The gang has prior theft cases registered in Hyderabad and Goa. Two probationary IPS officers were roped in to crack the case using technical expertise to track digital footprints.
The police have urged people to verify the authenticity of online bookings and avoid advance payments to unverified sources.
