Cyber scam exposed: Delhi police arrest accused behind fake hotel booking website; victims defrauded via OTP, UPI

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police Crime Branch has busted a cyber fraud racket involving a fake website impersonating a popular hotel-booking platform and arrested the main accused, police said on Tuesday.The Cyber Cell uncovered the scam after a complaint from a victim based in the United States, who lost Rs 57,186 while attempting to make a hotel reservation through the fraudulent platform. The accused allegedly posed as customer support and tricked the victim into sharing sensitive OTP and UPI details, leading to unauthorised transactions.During the investigation, police found that the defrauded amount was used to pay the accused’s own credit card bill. “Raids conducted led to the recovery of three mobile phones, a forged Aadhaar card, and digital evidence, including incriminating WhatsApp chats used to target victims. The mobile numbers seized were found to be linked to at least 29 complaints on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP),” DCP (crime) Aditya Gautam saidThe arrested accused has been identified as Pratosh Kumar (26), a resident of Sheikhpura in Bihar.

A Class 12 pass, Kumar allegedly used multiple mobile phones and a fake Aadhaar card to pose as an authorised representative of online service platforms. Police said he was involved in cyber fraud activities for the past six years and confessed to the crime during interrogation.According to police, the accused impersonated customer support executives and other platforms, contacting victims under the pretext of booking confirmations or refunds. Using social engineering tactics, he induced victims to share OTP and UPI credentials, enabling fraudulent transactions.