A 19-year-old youth, allegedly drawing inspiration from a Tamil film, has been arrested for orchestrating a cyber fraud by manipulating QR codes at retail outlets to siphon off digital payments into his personal bank account. The accused has been identified as Manish Verma.
Delhi Police took Manish into custody on Monday following a complaint filed by a customer who had shopped at a boutique in Chandni Chowk on December 13. The customer had purchased a lehenga worth Rs2.5 lakh and made two UPI payments of Rs90,000 and Rs50,000 by scanning QR codes displayed at the store.
Despite the transactions being marked successful on the customer’s phone, the boutique later informed her that the payments had not been received in their official bank account. Screenshots provided by the customer confirmed the payments, prompting a police investigation.
Authorities found that the QR codes at the store had been tampered with, redirecting payments to Manish Verma’s bank account. The case highlights the growing sophistication of cyber frauds targeting digital payment systems and the need for vigilance by both merchants and customers.
