Scam alert! Fake tenants in Bengaluru dupe landlords of Rs 1.2 lakh using QR codes

Two separate yet similar incidents of fraud took place in Bengaluru, where prospective tenants siphoned off money from property owners, using a QR code, according to a report by The Times of India.

Babu Reddy, a Whitefield resident had published an online advertisement to rent out his 1BHK house. A person who identified himself as Advesh Kumar approached Reddy, and after finalising a deal, asked the property owner to scan a QR code to verify bank details.

Believing Kumar to be “a genuine person,” Reddy initially scanned the code after which Rs 2 was debited from his account. Soon after, Kumar returned Rs 4 to Reddy.