Two Rajasthan natives nabbed for online hotel booking fraud

The UT police have arrested two men for duping a city resident of Rs 1.6 lakh in an online hotel booking scam.

The suspects were identified as 20-year-old Yasir and 27-year-old Ispak, both from Rajasthan. They were arrested following raids in Delhi. Cops recovered three mobile phones and three gold items from Yasir, who confessed to running cyber fraud operations since 2022. He, along with his associate, allegedly used fake identities, procured SIM cards illegally, created fraudulent wallets, purchased goods using stolen credentials and later sold them for cash at discounted rates.

The case stems from a complaint lodged by Harpreet Singh, who was attempting to book a room at Hotel Four Points Sheraton in Delhi. A fraudulent contact number appearing in a Google search connected him to individuals posing as hotel staff. During the interaction, he was manipulated into sharing OTPs, enabling unauthorised transactions of Rs 1,60,900 from his bank credit card.

Investigators analysed customer acquisition form and call detail record data, merchant records relating to purchases from outlets such as Vijay Sales, Croma and online platforms, as well as device IMEI trails. This led them to multiple locations across Rajasthan and Delhi, leading to the arrest of the two suspects.

The police said further investigation was under way and more arrests were expected.