Daijiworld Media Network - Puttur (SP)

Puttur, Dec 25: An attempt to cheat a vegetable vendor was made by a person who claimed himself to be an army officer. At the time of bill payment, he obtained bank account details and then tried to cheat the person by trying to collect OTP number from him. This incident happened in Uppinangady in the taluk.

A person who spoke in Hindi and introduced himself as Aman Kumar, an army officer, had called a vegetable shop owner near old Uppinangady police station by WhatsApp. The caller told him that an army camp had been organized about five km away from Uppinangady and asked him whether he can supply vegetables on a daily basis. After the shopkeeper gave his nod, he sent a list prepared in Hindi. The quantities demanded were large but the shopkeeper anyway packed them. The person again contacted him to say that cash transactions cannot happen in military system and offered to credit the bill amount to the bank account of the vendor.

Representational image

After the bank account details were given, the caller asked the shopkeeper to send the vegetables by a vehicle he would be dispatching. He also told the person that the amount will be credited to the account once he provides the OTP number which he will receive. A gram panchayat member of Uppinangady who noticed this, stopped the merchant from sharing the OTP number. He has also advised the people to be careful as there are people who misuse the sense of respect people have about the army men by presenting themselves in army uniforms.