Bengaluru: Ambulance owner buys 'equipment' online, loses Rs 96,000

The fraudsters sent the victim photographs of the equipment he asked for, to make him believe the deal was genuine.

The invoice of the money transferred by the victim to the fraudsters. 

The fraudsters sent the victim photographs of the equipment he asked for, to make him believe the deal was genuine.

The

Online fraudsters conned an ambulance owner who searched for high-end equipment to upgrade his vehicle.

Ravindra Y (55) searched online for those supplying ventilators, bypass machines and other equipment as he wanted to fit his ambulance with the devices.

In a few minutes of his search, he received eight to ten calls from various companies. One of them sent details of the materials, a quotation and an invoice. They collected Rs 96,000 from Ravindra and disappeared.

In his complaint with the Southeast CEN police, Ravindra, a resident of Hulimavu, said the fraudster introduced himself as Surendra Singh from Chandigarh-based Rudraksha Healthcare. Ravindra works as a driver and has three ambulances. He searched for a ventilator, syringe pipes and a bypass machine to outfit his ambulance.

“When we click on the website or advertisement of the companies, they get our mobile numbers and they call us. Singh called me and sent me pictures of the materials I required. When I asked for a quote, he initially sent me a quote for Rs 1.42 lakh. We bargained and he later sent me a quote for Rs 1.04 lakh. We finally sealed the deal for Rs 96,000,” Ravindra told DH.

Bank transfer

When Singh sent him the bank account to transfer the money, Ravindra asked if he could be trusted and delayed the payment by a day. Singh assured him that the company will send him the materials by courier.

But after Ravindra transferred the amount, he did not receive the materials.

An investigating officer said police have registered a case under the Information Technology Act and cheating. The probe is underway.