The Hyderabad police on Wednesday arrested eight men accused of cheating shopkeepers in the city using fake versions of the PayTM and GooglePay applications on mobile phones. The men were all apprehended based on four cases filed in different police stations in the South Zone of the city.
According to the Hyderabad police, the accused had downloaded an app called 'PayTM spoof'. On this, they entered a store's name and once the shopping was done and bill produced, they pretended to pay the store through this app. No amount, however, was deducted but they showed shopkeepers the app to claim that the payment was completed. It was only much later that cashiers allegedly learnt that they had been cheated and that no payment was completed.
Police found that the accused learnt the use of the fake app through Youtube videos and downloaded it via Google Play Store.
The accused persons named in the FIR are Mohd Mustafa Hussain Muzakir, Syed Aamir Hassan, Syed Iliyas, Syed Wajeed Ali, Hafeez Rana, Mohd Salman, Mohd Abdul Shahed and Mohd Yousuf. The accused have been booked under sections 420 (Cheating and dishonestly), 379 (Punishment for theft) and 380 (Theft in dwelling house) of the Indian Penal code.
So far, based on the complaints received the accused have cheated shopkeepers of clothes worth Rs 28,000, sports goods worth Rs 8500, grocery items worth Rs 10,700 and a gold ring worth Rs 28,0000.
"Some of the apps have been deleted by Google; however some apps continue to be available on the Play store. Public, in general, and shopkeepers, particularly, are requested to stay alert about such fake apps and report any such instances immediately to the concerned police authorities," the Hyderabad police have advised.