Mumbai Ola fraud case: 7,000 victims who were tricked into paying higher fares for rides to get money back – Times Now

Mumbai: Cab aggregator Ola is in the process of refunding money to 7,000 customers who were tricked into paying higher payers by three drivers in Mumbai. As per reports, the company has already refunded nearly Rs 1.5 lakh to more than 1,200 customers and the process to return the remaining money is underway.

The case came to light on November 1 last year when crime branch officials of the Mumbai Police at the Mumbai International Airport and nabbed three Ola divers, following a tip-off that they were overcharging the customers by manipulating the Ola app. According to the police, the accused used an outdated version of the Ola app. They would switch on and switch off the cab’s GPS in such a manner that the distance of the route would increase, resulting in a higher fare.

Police facilitate refund 

Police, after the arrest of the accused, prepared a list of around 7,000 people who might have been defrauded owing to manipulation of the app, in order to facilitate refund of their money. “Accordingly, the amount charged extra has been refunded to customers using the app. Refunds have been made through UPI as well where payments were made via that platform. Those who had paid in cash are being contacted by the company for refund,” a report by The Indian Express quoted a police officer as saying.

More Ola drivers involved in cheating customers

The chargesheet, filed by the Mumbai Police in the case, mentions that 33 other drivers working with Ola were also involved in duping customers by using an old version of the cab aggregator’s app. One of the arrested accused, identified as Rajesh Acharya, first noticed the flaw in the app and began using it to cheat customers. Later, he told other drivers about it and gave them the tampered software.