KOLKATA: A man was arrested for allegedly duping several holidayers from the city posting his own mobile number at the Google Business listing of a popular holiday home in Puri.The accused used to ask those colling him for booking queries to deposit advance payments into his own bank account instead of hotel authorities.Debojit Dey (23), the accused, was arrested from his home at Alipurduar late on Monday for allegedly duping scores of people during the Rathyatra and Durga Puja.The fraud first came to the light when officials of Mahaprabhu Holiday Home in Puri began recieving multiple calls from people who said they had deposited advance money and had even recieved receipts of the same, but the hotel authorities had no knowledge of it."People were calling us accusing us of cheating. They said we have already taken money from them and now we were refusing to allot them rooms. But we had no clue about these accusations. Then we realised somebody was conning them and approached the Bidhannagar cyber crime cell for help," said Partha Chakraborty, one of the hotel owners.Police found that someone had changed the original contact number mentioned in Google Business listing -- that one can list for free -- and had inserted his own number."As a result, the moment somebody searched Mahaprabhu Hotel, the listing showed on top of the search items with a phone number that one can call with just a touch on his cell phone. The call went to the fraudster instead of the original owners who offered them rooms at as low as Rs 500 per night.The fraudster provided the callers with his own banking details and even sent them fake receipts for the same when they deposited the money," said a senior official of Bidhannagar Commissionerate.The concerned holiday home is a six-year-old property with 30 rooms built near the light house on the sea shore in Puri. Officials said the rooms cost here Rs 700 per night and were mostly booked well in advance during the puja and Rathyatra season.

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