Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Jul 16: A woman identified as Farida has allegedly defrauded a laptop store in the city, making away with laptops worth Rs 1.98 lac using a bounced cheque and a forged NEFT receipt.

Farida, reportedly a habitual fraudster with multiple cases registered against her in Mangaluru, Udupi, and Moodbidri, is accused of targeting Laptop Bazaar, located in Empire Mall. She is said to have obtained three laptops under false pretenses.

Towards the end of June, Farida contacted the store claiming she needed a MacBook for her son, who was to travel to Qatar the next day. She told the staff she had neither cash nor an active bank account in India and would pay via cheque. A boy was then sent to collect the laptop, carrying a self-issued cheque. Farida further claimed to be a known customer with close ties to the shop owner. As the transaction occurred on the fourth Saturday—a bank holiday—the cheque could not be deposited immediately.

Soon after, she contacted the store again requesting a Windows laptop. She assured them that she would transfer the amount via NEFT and sent a fake payment confirmation through WhatsApp. Trusting her once again, the store handed over two more laptops.

By the following Monday, the store found that the cheque had bounced and the NEFT receipt was forged. Realizing they had been cheated, the store demanded Farida's immediate arrest, stating she has been involved in similar scams in the region for several years.