Searching for properties online? Beware of fraudsters!

Searching for properties online? Beware of fraudsters!

In today’s internet age where tasks from buying veggies to real estate happen online, it is becoming increasingly difficult to ascertain the authenticity of faceless entities. While the financial loss arising from expenditure on things like fake apparel or vegetables might not harm you as much, making a payment for booking an apartment certainly would.

The Pune Police Crime Branch has arrested a man who allegedly conned many people to the tune of lakhs of rupees by posting fake advertisements about selling homes on property websites. “He and his co-conspirators posted advertisements of properties in the name of Allmax Realty Acres Private Limited and Wellington Homezone India Private Limited on popular websites like Common Floor and Magicbricks,” the police said.

The suspect has been identified as Suraj Rakesh Choube alias Swaroop Sharma alias Raj Shukla. He was wanted in cases registered with the Vimantal and Lashkar police stations in Pune as well as Nalasopara police station in Mumbai.

Suraj purportedly attracted customers who were looking for apartments online. After the customers contacted him, he took them to show some properties. If someone got interested in a deal, He prepared fake documents and also took booking amounts. However, he did not complete the deal and fled with the money.

Investigations in the matter and efforts to nab Suraj’s accomplices are on by a team of Economic Offences Wing of Pune Police’s Crime Branch led by Inspector Vasant Kunvar.