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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Power tariffs under BESCOM to rise from May 1
Bengaluru (PTI): Power bills for consumers under the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) will go up from May 1, following an order issued by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on Friday.
The hike comes after KERC allowed the BESCOM to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2,068 crore incurred in 2024-25, from the consumers.
As a result, for every unit of electricity consumed in 2024-25, the customers will be charged an additional 56 paise, it said.
"BESCOM shall calculate, for each of the active consumers of FY2024-25 the amount to be recovered based on their actual energy consumption during FY2024-25. Such amount shall be recovered during FY 2026-27 in equal monthly instalments, to be called as 'FY25 True up Charges', commencing from the first meter reading date falling on or after 1 May 2026 and concluding with the reading date ending on 30 April 2027," the order said.
"It is further ordered that BESCOM shall maintain a separate head of account, allocated for the purpose, to record the adjustment of the said amount to ensure full recovery of the deficit," it added.
Similarly Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (CESC) has also recorded a revenue deficit of Rs 121.71 crore and can collect an additional 15 paisa per unit for consumption in 2024-25, official sources said.
