A 25-year-old technical engineer, trying to buy a used scooter from an Armyman, was duped of Rs 72,000 in an OLX fraud. The youth had shown interest in purchasing a two-wheeler for Rs 25,000, but was cheated out of almost thrice the amount. Saki Naka Police have booked the unidentified accused under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act, following which they are probing the case.
Rajkamal Saroj, 25, a technical engineer employed with a four-star hotel, a Naigaon resident, was looking for a motorcycle on OLX, an online platform for people to buy and sell used items. On July 15, Saroj came across a classified advertisement for a scooter for Rs 25,000. The seller, Rajkumar Sheth, introduced himself as an Armyman who wanted to sell his vehicle as he had been transferred.
Police said, since Saroj was interested, he sought details of the vehicle and of Sheth's bank account, to initiate the money transfer. During the conversation, Sheth told the complainant that he would have to pay an additional Rs 3,150 for vehicle documents and home delivery of the scooter. Saroj obliged and transferred this sum to Sheth's account, only to be asked to repeat the payment in two separate transactions -- of Rs 3,000 and Rs 150. Sheth promised to settle the amount in the overall payment.
"In a series of transactions, Sheth asked me to pay Rs 65,607 using the same modus operandi of making separate transactions of different combinations on the pretext of Army cargo fees, late payment fees and home delivery of the scooter," said Saroj. Only when Sheth demanded an extra amount did Saroj begin to smell a rat and approached police to lodge a complaint of being cheated.
Kishor Sawant, senior inspector of Saki Naka police station, said an investigation is underway and they had sought call data records (CDR) and details from the bank. "We appeal to citizens to not share their bank details and fall prey to such cons in the name of Army personnel. Armymen do not sell their vehicles over the internet and this con is a large-scale scam operated by fraudsters. One should always stay cautious," explained Sawant.
In case you are a victim of cyber fraud:
▪︎Immediately alert the local police station or call the 24x7 Cyber Helpline-- 9820810007 set up to prevent and tackle Cyber Crime.
▪︎For bank frauds, immediately alert the concerned bank, block the card and fill a dispute form. If a fraud is reported within 24 hours of crime, it becomes the responsibility of the concerned stakeholder to recover the money.
▪︎Never share your bank details, debit/credit card number, and One Time Password (OTP).
While alerting bank, keep following documents handy --
•Bank statement of the last six months
•A copy of SMSs received related to the alleged transactions
•Identity and address proof as shown in the bank records
