Cab ride in Bengaluru turns into ₹1.15 lakh scam for Pune man: Report

A routine cab ride in Bengaluru spiralled into a nightmare for a Pune man, who lost ₹1.15 lakh to a fraudulent driver.

What started as a regular cab ride for a Pune-based man in Bengaluru ended up costing him ₹1.15 lakh, not in fares, but in fraud.

This incident from Bengaluru underscores the risks of digital transactions and the importance of safeguarding personal information.(AI generated)

Vineet Priyadarshi, 39, had booked a cab on the evening of August 17 from Sathanur village to Marathahalli. While the app showed the driver’s name as John, someone else, identified later as Sushanth SH, arrived to pick him up.

During the journey, the driver stopped the ride midway, collected ₹591 via UPI, and only continued after repeated requests, said a report by The New Indian Express. At one point, Vineet stepped out briefly to relieve himself, leaving his phone inside the cab while it was still charging. That’s when the driver sped off with it.

Unbeknownst to Vineet, the driver had been watching him closely and had memorized both his phone unlock pattern and UPI PIN. With access to the device, he quickly transferred ₹1.15 lakh from Vineet’s two bank accounts using online payments.

Although Vineet didn’t report the incident right away due to travel plans, he later contacted the cybercrime helpline (1930), filed an online complaint via the KSP app, and blocked his phone using the CEIR portal, said the report.

A week later, things took a darker turn. The driver, pretending to be a police officer, called Vineet and demanded another ₹10,000, threatening to leak his personal photos and data if he didn’t comply. That’s when Vineet approached the Bagalur police and filed an official complaint on September 4.

Police have registered a case under the IT Act for theft and cheating. The accused is currently on the run, and efforts are underway to nab him, the report stated.

HT.com has not independently verified the authenticity of this information.