Conman floats fake used car ad, dupes man of Rs 1.82 lakh

PUNE: The Wakad police have booked a conman for cheating a 32-year-old man of Rs1.82 lakh in a used car sale scam.
The victim lodged a complaint with the police on May 31. A case has been registered under Sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, as well as the relevant sections of the Information and Technology Act, on Sunday.
Police said the complainant was looking to buy a used car for his own use. He came across an advertisement for a Volkswagen Vento on a website, following which he contacted the seller on the listed mobile number on May 23.
According to the complaint, the “seller” sent the man what he claimed were photographs and registration documents of the car and also asked him to visit a used-car showroom in Rahatani for a test drive.
The following day, the man went to Rahatani with three of his friends, where they met the suspect and another person — whom the suspect claimed was his employee.
The complainant and his friends went on a test drive, after which his mechanic examined it. The complainant and the suspect agreed on Rs4.30 lakh as the final price.
Police said the complainant first transferred Rs2,100 as a token payment to a mobile number linked to a digital wallet.
On May 25, the suspect sent his “employee” to the complainant’s house for loan verification. The man charged him Rs20,000 as verification charges. Later in the afternoon, police said, the complainant received a receipt on his cellphone, along with a message stating that a loan of Rs2.13 lakh had been sanctioned
The suspect then called the complainant and told him to pay the remainder as down payment. The complainant, over three transactions on May 28 and 29, transferred Rs1.80 lakh to a bank account.
The suspect told the complainant to come to the showroom on May 31 and take possession of the car. However, the suspect’s cellphone was not reachable. The complainant then contacted the suspect’s employee, who claimed that he had been employed by the suspect only four days ago.
Further, the man approached the owner of the showroom, who denied any connection to the deal or the suspect. Realizing he was duped, the man approached the police.
“We have booked the suspect and his employee. Our probe is on,” a police officer said.
This is the latest in a series of such cases, where conmen cheated their victims by uploading misleading advertisements on such websites.