It started like any regular house-hunt story in Bengaluru - endless scrolling through property listings, comparing rents, and hoping to find something that doesn't break the bank. A woman looking for a 2BHK flat in Koramangala came across what looked like a dream deal on 99acres: a fully furnished apartment in Prestige Pinewood for just Rs 35,000 per month. In that area, similar flats usually go for about Rs 1 lakh - so yes, the deal sounded almost magical.

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[Repost] An elaborate, but obvious, scam on 99acresbyu/IKA3RUS inbangalore

But that“too good to be true” part? It really was.

The“Perfect” Deal That Wasn't

The so-called owner, who went by the name Abhishek Khanna, got in touch immediately. He spoke fluent English, sounded professional, and claimed he was out of town for a few days but could show the flat once he was back.

To make it sound more convincing, he mentioned another couple from Mumbai - professionals who had just joined Razorpay - who were eager to rent the same flat and had even offered a Rs 5,000 token amount to seal the deal.

Afraid she'd lose the apartment, the woman offered to pay Rs 10,000 upfront. Khanna agreed and sent her a UPI number belonging to his“CA,” Md Naushad.

Red Flags Ignored

When she tried paying through Google Pay, a big red error popped up: the UPI network had stopped the transaction“to protect her money.”

That should have been a clear warning. But instead of walking away, she told the“owner,” who quickly shared another UPI QR code - this time belonging to the CA's“assistant,” Mantu Prasad Gupta.

This time, the payment went through.

He assured her that his CA would issue a receipt with KYC details by the evening. But when nothing arrived, another excuse followed: a“stamp paper” for the agreement required a minimum payment of Rs 20,000, and she'd have to send more money to the“notary” to process it.

That's when she finally paused. Something didn't add up.

The Reality Check

Sensing something off, she refused to send more money and reached out to a friend for advice. The friend immediately reverse-image searched the property photos from the listing - and everything unraveled.

The same pictures appeared on Facebook and OLX, with older timestamps and different contact names. One was even posted by a broker in Jaipur, while another was listed by“Abhishek Khanna” again - this time for a completely different flat at an even lower rent.

It was all fake. The“owner,” the“CA,” the“assistant,” the“notary” - all part of an elaborate scam.

Police Complaint and a Hard Lesson

Hoping to recover her Rs 10,000, she filed a cybercrime complaint via the 1930 helpline and visited the Koramangala Police Station.

The police took down her complaint, gave her a stamped acknowledgment, and said they would work on freezing the scammer's account. While at the station, she noticed several similar cases being reported - all related to UPI and rental fraud. One man was even following up on a two-month-old complaint that hadn't seen progress.

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