Man walks away with Apple MacBook from Himalaya Mall after showing fake payment message

A laptop store owner at Vastrapur’s Himalaya Mall was allegedly duped of a high-end Apple laptop worth ₹67,000 by an unidentified man who used a fake digital payment message to commit the fraud. The Vastrapur police have registered an FIR and launched an investigation to trace the accused, believed to be around 32 to 35 years old.

The complaint was filed by Devendrabhai Jain (43), a resident of Ramdevnagar, who runs a laptop retail business under the name Laptop Hub in Himalaya Mall. Jain stated that on July 5, around 7.30 pm, a man posing as a genuine customer walked into his shop and expressed interest in buying an Apple laptop.

After inspecting several models, the man selected a MacBook priced at ₹67,000. The accused claimed he would make the payment through PhonePe and scanned the shop’s QR code. Moments later, Jain received a message on his WhatsApp number 9898085773 showing a payment confirmation of ₹67,000.

Assuming the transaction was genuine, Jain handed over the laptop to the customer, who quickly left the store. However, later that evening, when Jain checked his bank account at his mother’s residence, he found that no payment had been credited. Repeated attempts to reach the customer failed as his phone number was switched off.

Realising he had been duped, Jain searched the number and its associated details but found no trace of the individual. Later, he filed a complaint at Vastrapur police.

The total value of property lost in the fraud stands at ₹67,000. The complainant has cited his shop staff as witnesses and stated that CCTV footage from the premises could assist in identifying the accused.

Police have registered the offence under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, related to cheating and criminal breach of trust and have started an investigation in the matter.