Woman Shares How She Got Scammed Of ₹93,6000 While Booking Through A Google Listing. Beware!

Google Listing Scammed Woman

Picture credit- Canva, Instagram/ Shreya Mitra | PPD |Respectful Parenting| Mental Health (@raising_shaan) Image for representation

We live in a world where we can get robbed of our money in just a few seconds. No, no one would rob and steal forcefully but they will convince us to do so over a simple phone call. It has become so easy for fraudsters to scam people and we have been seeing a crazy and alarming surge in hoax schemes, email phishing, cyberbullying, and scamming on the Internet. Recently, a fake Google listing scammed a woman and she lost over ₹90,000 by falling into this trap while booking her stay. Here’s how swindlers tricked her.

Mayfair Heritage Puri’s Fake Google Listing Scammed Woman

Shreya Mitra, a content creator, shared her disheartening experience of coming across this racket and losing a hefty amount. With plans to visit Puri during Holi, she was looking for hotels for her vacation. As usual, she Googled Mayfair Heritage Puri and clicked the first web page. This was the first result that popped up on the screen upon searching, so she trusted it.

After finding the contact details, she made a call and had a conversation about booking her stay. The scammers sent her the pictures and details of the room. With no idea about the scam about to unfold, she decided to book that room and sent the necessary money to complete the process. She lost ₹93,600 in this fraud without even realising it. Soon, the swindlers sent her a fake invoice but Shreya needed more information regarding the booking.

She asked for an email confirmation but received an excuse for the system being down instead. The next morning, someone from the racket called her and asked her to go back to Google Pay app, click on pay, and put a provided booking ID of 5-6 digits. This was the only step to get a confirmation. Sounds fishy, right?

Also read: Maha Kumbh Mela 2025: Keep These Tips In Mind To Stay Safe From Digital Scams

What Happened Later?

Picture credit- Canva
Image for representation

Thankfully, Shreya realised she had been scammed and refused to follow this step. When she asked for an email again, the man responding to the call hung up.

In shock, she began searching for the property. After researching for a bit, she found the official email ID of the original Mayfair Heritage Puri and notified them about the major swindle. The hotel authorities confirmed that the fake Google listing scammed her, unfortunately.

Also read: Buyer Beware! Madhya Pradesh Has A New Online Scam Where Fraudsters Replace QR Codes At Shops To Steal Money

Be very careful while booking hotels online.

Cover Image Courtesy: Canva, Instagram/ Shreya Mitra | PPD |Respectful Parenting| Mental Health (@raising_shaan)

Image for representation

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Shreya Ghosh: Shreya and her obsession with rom-coms and sitcoms are very real. Either procrastinating everything for weeks or wrapping it all up in just a weekend: the perfect way to sum up her. She loves exploring the newest cafes of Kolkata and is very passionate about forcing others to visit those places as well.