Man duped of over Rs 2.4L in food delivery platform franchise scam

Mangaluru: A 25-year-old man was allegedly cheated of more than Rs 2.4 lakh after fraudsters posed as officials of a food delivery platform and lured him with a fake quick commerce service franchise offer.The complainant stated that he applied for a franchise through the website around 1.5 months ago. Subsequently, on March 13, he received a call, and the caller introduced himself as Bauthik Goswami, claiming to be a relationship manager, and informed the complainant that his franchise application had been approved. The caller then instructed him to send personal documents such as Aadhaar, PAN, ITR details, and shop-related information to an email ID. Believing the claim to be genuine, the complainant shared the required details. Later, he was asked to pay a registration fee of Rs 69,999, which he transferred to a bank account in the name of Sujit Kumar. On March 16, the fraudsters further demanded Rs 1.7 lakh as system/software charges. The complainant transferred this amount to a bank account in the name of Rahul Kumar. However, when the complainant's friend verified the details with the platform's office in Mangaluru, it was confirmed that neither the caller nor the email ID had any association with the company. Realising that he had been cheated, the complainant approached the authorities. A case has been registered at Surathkal police station.
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