Staff say fraudsters using fake webpages to steal money from customers under guise of booking tables, placing orders
Oven Fresh at Shivaji Park
Scores of patrons of a popular Shivaji Park restaurant have been cheated after they tried to book tables or place an order online. Blaming cyber crooks for the con, the staff at Oven Fresh said they have complained to the police but haven’t received any help. The restaurant has now put up a board outside saying it doesn’t seek card details or OTPs during online dealings with customers.
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The staff at Oven Fresh said they have been getting 2-3 complaints every day. Since November 2020, they claim, the cons have duped at least 100 patrons of Rs 5-10 lakh.
Sachin More, manager
“The problem started during the lockdown in November 2021 when only online orders were accepted. Some people created fake web pages that would show up on top whenever a customer ran a Google search,” said Sachin More, manager.
“Our first customer who was cheated lost nearly Rs 25,000. The frauds told the customer that they were taking only online orders. They asked the customer to send money via Gpay. Then they sought card details saying they would refund the money to the card if the order got cancelled in any way. They also coaxed customers to share OTPs,” More said.
A board put up by the eatery informing patrons that it doesn’t seek their private info
The manager said most customers run a search and note the number that they see first. “Now, the fraudsters are duping people in the guise of table booking. If any customer calls on their number, they ask for Rs 500 and then seek card details using the same refund story. They are also sending some QR codes to customers to send money, but it’s a trap,” said More.
The restaurant said it never seeks money to book a table. “A few customers filed complaints after they lost money thinking they were dealing with us. But the police didn’t take our complaint. Our restaurant’s reputation is at stake. We face abuse daily from customers who were cheated. On Monday, we received two complaints from customers,” said the manager.
Deepa Sugandh, who looks after public relations, said, “We visited the Shivaji Park police station but they refused to register our complaint saying it will be handled by the cyber cell at Worli. When we went to the Worli cyber police, even they also refused to register a case on the grounds that the amount is less than Rs 10 lakh. We are fed up with these fraudsters.”
‘Was asked to share card info, OTP’
Shivaji Park resident Vaishnavi Joshi, a dentist, was asked to pay R500 when she tried a book a table at Oven Fresh online.
The 25-year-old dentist told mid-day, “I paid the money via Gpay, he asked for my card details and CVV number. While I shared the info, the transaction failed twice due to some technical error. They asked me to share OTP on the third attempt which I declined. The man on the other side started abusing me. I visited the restaurant and learnt that many customers have been cheated in their name.”
Mahim resident Jiten Gala said, “I lost Rs 1.75 lakh while booking a table. They first asked me to pay Rs 00 and then sought card and CVV details for confirmation of the table. After the money was deducted, I called the number and the person abused me before disconnecting the call.”
Businessman Mayur Jain, a Mahin resident, said he wanted to buy a cake for his son’s birthday. “The price was Rs 730 and I paid the money via Gpay. I was then asked to give my debit card details which I did. Then I received a message for a transaction of Rs 90,000 and an OTP. But I didn’t share the OTP. When I visited the restaurant I learnt about the fraud. Thankfully, I lost only Rs 730.
Worli resident Priti Gada wanted to order a cake on New Year’s Eve. She ran a Google search and called the number. After sharing her card details and OTP, she lost Rs1.70 lakh.
‘Told them to visit local cops’
Kishor Shinde, senior inspector of the cyber cell’s south region, said, “We register cases where the amount is more than R10 lakh. If the amount is less, we ask complainants to visit the local police station. We are helping the police stations with technical help to trace the accused. For this reason, our staff told the restaurant representative to go to the Shivaji Park police station and file a complaint.”
Senior inspector Satish Kasbe of Shivaji Park police station said, “I am not aware of this incident. We will register a case if the restaurant is facing issues due to fraudsters.”
100
Approx. no. of customers cheated so far
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