Conmen dupe sellers who post ads online

KOCHI: Kesavadas M S, a 57-year-old businessman hailing from Muppathadam in Aluva, decided to sell his 2015 model car on OLX after Covid-19 impacted his income severely. He posted an advertisement on the e-commerce portal last week to sell the car for `5.75 lakh. Thrissur native Jose Joseph, a prospective buyer, dialled the number found on the site after noticing that the price displayed was only `2.75 lakh. 

Jose’s call was answered by a man speaking Hindi, who said the car would be sent via the parcel service once Jose transferred the amount into his bank account via Google pay. As Jose refused to transfer money before seeing the car, the person sent pictures of Kesavadas’ identity proof and the car, along with a sale letter. Photos of parcel being sent from the Indian Army parcel service unit was also sent to gain the trust of the customer. Jose was convinced and transferred Rs 12,300 from his account as parcel service charge. Thereafter, he found no trace of the ‘seller’. 

The fraud came to light after another person, who had called Kesavadas earlier, told him about the change in contact number and the price of the vehicle. Kesavadas found that his photo, Aadhaar card and sale letter on the portal were fake. Subsequently, he lodged a complaint with the Binanipuram police and withdrew the ad. The inquiry revealed that the fraudsters duplicated Kesavadas’s identity, and Jose lost his money as he was unable to reach the seller soon enough.

“After filing the petition, I came to know that the racket has been rampant during the pandemic,” Kesavadas told TNIE. “Recently, a police officer in Nedumbassery lost `4.5 lakh in a similar fraud after he paid for an Innova car displayed on OLX. Many are reluctant to file complaints due to the shame of being victimised.”According to the police, stealing the identity of a person and siphoning money off using fake credentials is a new trend.

“This would come under identity theft and can be charged under relevant sections of the IT Act. People should not reveal confidential informations while posting ads,” said Abhilash M J, inspector, Cyber Police Station, Kochi. He said fraudsters create accounts on e-commerce portals and replicate the ad posted by another person by giving a contact number. After receiving an amount, they either block the caller or disable their SIM cards.