Famous restaurant in Lucknow scammed by cybercriminals

LUKWEI: A very popular eatery in Lucknow, famous for its tea and ‘samosas’, was defrauded of Rs 28,000 by a cybercriminal who posed as an army lieutenant and pretended to order samosas.

The man called one of the shop owners and ordered samosas for a week-long official event.

Later he cheated the owner when paying.

Lalit Sharma, the owner of the restaurant in Lalbagh area, said his wife Nidhi Sharma was cheated of Rs 28,000. “We are yet to file a written complaint with the cyber cell, though an online application has been made to us,” he said.

According to reports, manager Rajkumar Yadav received a call on June 30.

The caller identified himself as an army lieutenant and said that the command center would be conducting 15 days of training and that snacks would be provided for 50 people in the morning and evening.

Thereafter, the caller called him to Command Hospital in Cantt on July 1 with the order. He said that payment through barcode was not possible and a mobile number was required. The manager Rajkumar gave him the mobile number of the owner Nidhi Sharma,” said a shop employee.

“After that, the person who placed the order, named Nidhi, introduced himself as a lieutenant and said that the army rules are different and he is sending a barcode which has to be scanned to take the payment. Nidhi fell into the trap and before she even knew it, she was ripped off for Rs 28,000,” the employee said.