Fraud poses as Armyman, dupes 25-yr-old of Rs 15,000 on OLX

Ludhiana: Another Ludhianvi has fallen prey to OLX fraud.
Gurcharan Singh, 25, a resident of Boothgrah village, Meharban, lost Rs 15,000 to a cheat after he promised to sell him a smartphone on the online application. This is the seventh such case reported in the city in the past six months.
Gurcharan said in his police complaint, “On September 4, 2018, I saw a smartphone worth Rs 40,000 being sold for Rs 15,000 on OLX. I immediately contacted the seller, who introduced himself as Sanjay Singh, an Armyman. Sanjay told me that he wanted to sell his phone as he was not allowed to use it on duty.”
As he claimed to be an Armyman, Gurcharan did not suspect him. “Besides, he had sent me his ID proof through WhatsApp. After winning my confidence, Sanjay asked me to transfer the money in his account via Paytm. When I did so, he told me that he had sent a courier to Dholewal-based Army camp office and that I could collect the phone from a man named Kisan. The next day, I sent my wife, Surinder, to Dholewal Army camp, but she could not find Kisan. When I called up Sanjay, he said I would have to pay Rs 10,000 more for the cellphone. Then I realized I have been cheated.” he added.
Gurcharan, a businessman, lodged a police complaint on September 8 and an inquiry was marked to the cyber cell of Ludhiana police.
Sub-inspector Satbir Singh said after an inquiry, a case was registered Saturday under sections 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACP cyber crime) Dharamvir Singh said, “In most of the OLX fraud cases, accused used forged ID proofs of Armymen to dupe people. The Patym used by the cheats is cloned and belongs to those who are not linked with the gang. Recently, the Chandigarh police had arrested three such fraudsters. We contacted the UT police, but could not reach the mastermind.”
Police now plan to start an awareness drive. “We will paste posters in the city to make residents aware about the OLX fraud,” the ACP added.
Falling prey to online cheats
June 12: Seema Rani, a resident of old city, lost Rs 11,200 to online fraudsters selling an air-conditioner on OLX
June 17: A fraud impersonating as an Armyman duped Rahul Kumar, 21, of Islam Gunj of Rs 44,000 on the pretext of selling him an iPhone X through OLX
March 5: A fraud posing as a CISF man duped Simranjit Singh, 26, a resident of Nanakpuri, of Rs 25,000 on the promise of selling him an iPhone 8+ through OLX
February 16: A fake Armyman cheated Sahil Kumar of Bhamiya Kalan of Rs 90,000 on the pretext of selling him a Royal Enfield motorcycle through OLX
February 13: A conman cheated Ishant Kapoor of Jamalpur Colony of Rs 10,000 on the pretext of selling him an iPhone 7 through OLX
February 9: Imran Ali of Sahnewal fell prey to a fraud selling an iPhone X through OLX and lost Rs 30,000