Ghana man cheats travel agency of ` 10L
Travel agents should be more cautious of payments made through credit and debit cards as technology advancements have made it easier to dupe travel companies while making payments.
NEW DELHI: A south Delhibased travel agency was duped of around Rs 10 lakh when one of its customer allegedly booked international air tickets-allegedly for his friends and family members but had using cloned and stolen debit cards.
The agency, operating at a mall in Saket, got to know about the fraud only after their bank ' charged back' the money swiped through the cards. By then, the accused had gone underground. But with the help of electronic surveillance, Koffi, a resident of Ghana, was soon nabbed.
On September 10, Koffi booked twelve tickets from the travel agency - mostly to and from countries like Kilimanjaro, Lagos, Dares Salaam, Sri Lanka, London and Chicago - after submitting his ID and residence proof. He booked the tickets after claiming that the travellers were his friends and relatives. While the accused had used stolen and cloned debit cards for making the payment at the agency, he had reportedly collected his payment from the travellers in cash or via account transfers, police said.
On October 1, the agency's accounting section raised an alarm when Koffi's card payments were 'charged back'. Following this, police was informed and a case was registered under sections of forgery and Foreigners Act. After using the CCTV footage from the agency, Koffi was nabbed. Police suspect that Koffi may have targeted other agencies also and further investigations are on. While the travel agency claimed of following all norms while making the online transactions and issuing tickets to Koffi, the police have not denied the role of an insider in colluding with the accused. They also made sure to see the original passport at the time of ticket Issuance, they have claimed.
A team, under the supervision of DCP south B S Jaiswal, is probing how the stolen cards reached Koffi and if there is an organized gang supplying cloned cards to cheats like him.