Software employee loses ₹4.87 lakh in online house rental scam
Bengaluru: A software employee from Aadugodi lost ₹4.87 lakh in a house rental scam after unknowingly using a fake property website that closely resembled a popular online platform. The incident took place between July 20 and July 22, while the victim was looking for a rental home from Whitefield, reports Bangalore Mirror.
According to the police complaint, the victim found a listing that seemed genuine and contacted the supposed owners, Srinivasan and Rajendra Jain. They then directed him to two people named Dharmendra and Nandakishora, who claimed to be property managers.
The managers told the victim that several payments were needed for the “online verification” of the property. Believing them, the victim transferred ₹3 lakh to Nandakishora and ₹1.87 lakh to Dharmendra in different stages. Whenever the victim raised doubts, they insisted the payments were non-refundable and necessary for booking the house.
After sending the money, the victim found that no property had been booked. Realising it was a scam, the victim called the cybercrime helpline (1930) and then filed a complaint at the local police station.
Police say that the website used in the fraud was a fake version of a well-known property site. It looked almost identical to the original, with only a tiny difference in the website name, just a small dot that went unnoticed. The victim also relied on a virtual video tour and did not visit the property in person.
An investigating officer said that many working professionals fall for such online scams. In 2024, around 1.6% of cyber fraud cases involved advance fee scams, though only a small portion of the total money was recovered. In these types of scams, fraudsters ask for upfront payments with false promises of services or rewards.
In this case, the scammers pretended to be landlords and property managers, collected money for supposed verification, and then disappeared. Police have urged the public to double-check property details, visit the site if possible, and avoid making payments without proper verification.
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Governor’s speech row: CM Siddaramaiah cites “Vartha Bharathi” editorial in assembly
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday cited an editorial published in the Kannada daily Vartha Bharathi during the Assembly session. The Chief Minister was responding to a debate in the assembly held over the Governor's address to the joint session of both Houses of the State Legislature.
On January 22, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot declined to read the customary address prepared by the government and made a two-line address before walking out on the first day of the State legislature session, triggering a major political row.
After the House reconvened following the lunch break, Speaker U.T. Khader gave CM Siddaramaiah the opportunity to respond to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s address. In his reply, the Chief Minister said the Governor left in haste without reading the full speech prepared by the government. He also pointed out that the Governor did not include the phrase “Jai Samvidhana” (Hail Constitution) and did not wait until the completion of the national anthem, stating that such conduct was inappropriate.
Referring to editorials published in various state dailies, the Chief Minister specifically cited Vartha Bharathi’s editorial dated January 23.
He said Governor Gehlot’s conduct during the January 22 session was not in keeping with the dignity of the constitutional office. Qouting the editorial the CM said, “the Governor appeared to act as though decisions and resolutions of the elected government required approval from him or the Central government, undermining the federal structure. Such actions violated the spirit of the Constitution and further fueled the already existing conflict between the Centre and the state."
Is Vartha Bharathi part of the government's cabinet? : V. Sunil Kumar
In the meantime, BJP MLA V. Sunil Kumar intervened the CM and questioned whether Vartha Bharathi was part of the government’s Cabinet.
Siddaramaiah responded saying, “no representatives of the newspaper were associated with the Congress party.”
Supporting the CM's statement and taking a jab at the BJP MLA, Minister Byrathi Suresh added, “None of Vartha Bharati’s representatives are there in our Cabinet. The editor of another newspaper was a member of your (BJP) party.”
