Man generates software with ‘fake messages’ to buy high-end phones, arrested in Bandra

Bandra police have arrested a man who would get away with expensive handsets from a mobile store by foxing the ‘sales man’ of the store by showing a ‘fake message’ to convince the shop owner that required amount of the phone has been debited from his account and soon the amount will be credited to shop owner’s bank account.

An officer said the accused Abhishek Dev (32), resident of Vashi, was using a ‘software’ to generate the fake message. “Dev worked in a BPO but at present he is jobless. He would enter the mobile stores and ask for expensive handsets like iPhone. Once the deal was finalised, he would tell the salesman that he would pay required amount through net banking. But, in actual, he was using a software in his handset. In the software, he keyed in details of the shop like name and bank account. After few minutes, one fake message pops up in his handset and he would tell sales man that the money has been debited from his bank account and the same would be credited to shop’s bank ac- count,” an officer said.

“Dev had duped two shop owners in Vashi and Sion previously using the same modus operandi. On Sunday, he had come to a mobile store in Pali Hill of Bandra (West) where the shop owner got alarmed when the required amount was not credited to his account,” said officer.

Bandra police have booked Dev under cheating section (420) of IPC and relevant sections of IT Act. The investigators have learnt that he has sold the expensive handsets in Pune. He is in police remand till May 25.