Before moving to Singapore, we listed our furniture and white goods for sale on OLX.
Caller 1: Vinod buys a bed
On 18th April, I got a call from +91 70868 17420. He said he was Vinod, and owned a furniture shop in Ahmedabad. He wanted to buy our bed for Rs 6,000.
It was not too bad an offer, so we agreed.
Vinod: “I will pay by phone, sir. Give me your WhatsApp number.”
Me: (Wow! He’s using WhatsApp Pay? That’s a first.) “Sure. It’s 9741 552 552.”
Vinod: “I’ve sent a picture, sir. Please scan that.”
Me: “Uh… OK. I got this QR code on WhatsApp. I scanned it on PayTM. But it’s asking me to transfer to 9713902265.imb@icici. Is that right?”
Vinod: “Yes sir. Please type 6,000 and send. You will get the amount.”
He sounded so confident, I thought I had it wrong.
Me: “But this will pay you Rs 6,000. How will I get Rs 6,000?”
Vinod: “Sir, it is a business account. I sent you Rs 6,000. But you will get it only if you enter 6,000.”
Me: “Vinod, I don’t think payments work that way…”
Vinod: “Sir, I will show you. I will pay you 1 rupee. You type 1 and send. You will get back 2 rupees.”
I didn’t mind losing a rupee, so I paid his account 1 rupee.
Vinod: “Sir, now please check your account. You will have 2 rupees.”
And I did have 2 UPI credits of 1 rupee each from his account.
| Date | Transaction Remarks | Withdrawal | Deposit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18-Apr-2022 | UPI/210885173447/NA/BHARATPE0990555/Yes Bank Ltd/PTMF7DD556B1DFF42538B3F24D52AFD0A0F/ | 1.00 | |
| 18-Apr-2022 | UPI/210868024141/UPI Payment/9713902265.imb@/Axis Bank Ltd./ICId74ef953e7bd4588bbcf226880cd4864 | 1.00 | |
| 18-Apr-2022 | UPI/210868024950/UPI Payment/9713902265.imb@/Axis Bank Ltd./ICIb8cafc942184402dafda89620319a9e9 | 1.00 |
Me: “Sure, Vinod. You paid me 2 rupees. But when I pay you Rs 6,000, there’s no guarantee you’ll pay me Rs 12,000. Why don’t you come in person, collect the sofa, and pay me then?”
Vinod: “What sort of man are you? I already sent you money from my account. I cannot get it back now. I will have a loss. You tell me — how will you give me back my money?”
Me: (Um… He really does sound convincing.) “Vinod, I’m really not comfortable with this. Let’s not go ahead.”
Vinod: “You’re an asshole. Get off the line!”
Caller #2: Gaurav buys a recliner
On 15th May, I got a call from Gaurav at +91 84865 47620.
Gaurav: “Sir, you have a sofa set on OLX for Rs 60,000. Can you give it for a lower amount?”
Me: “Well, I’m OK with Rs 55,000, but not less.”
Gaurav: “OK sir. I will pay by UPI. Can I make a 50% advance payment, then you can take off the listing from OLX?”
Me: “OK, sure.”
Gaurav: “What is your UPI account?”
Me: “9741552552@upi.”
Gaurav: “I have paid Rs 27,500. I have sent you a picture. Can you scan it and enter 27,500?”
Me: “I got an image that requests a payment to bharatpe09905995207@yesbank.ltd. But that’s for ME to transfer to YOU. I have not received your payment.”
Gaurav: “I have already paid the advance sir. If you type 27,500 and send, you will get it.”
Me: “Sorry, Gaurav, I’m not going to do that. Bye.” (click)
By now, I was a bit wiser.
Caller #3: Priti buys a recliner
On 15th May, I got a call from yet another person. I forget his name. It might have been Priti.
He: “Sir, I want to buy your recliner. How much is it for?”
Me: “How will you pay and how much, please?”
He: “Sir, I will pay on UPI. I can pay up to 55,000, sir. I will transfer the money and send you the confirmation code, sir”
I let out a huge laugh, and continued laughing for a good 5 seconds.
He: “Sir, what happened, sir?”
Me: “Oh, this is so hilarious. How much money do you make in a month with scams?”
He: “Sir, what sir?”
Me: “I’d love to interview you for my blog. Do you change SIM cards often? Do you use channels other than OLX? What do you do in case someone files a cyber-crime complaint?”
He: (click)
Cyber-crime reporting
This con is well-documented on OLX. I decided to file an online cyber-complaint at https://cybercrime.gov.in/. The process was not too painful. This is what the form asked for.
- Category of complaint
- Online and Social Media Related Crime
- Online Financial Fraud
- Business Email Compromise/Email Takeover
- Debit/Credit Card Fraud/Sim Swap Fraud
- Demat/Depository Fraud
- E-Wallet Related Fraud
- Fraud Call/Vishing
- Internet Banking Related Fraud
- UPI Fraud
- Hacking / Damage to computer,computer system etc
- Online Cyber Trafficking
- Online Gambling / Betting
- Ransomware
- Cryptocurrency Crime
- Cyber Terrorism
- Any Other Cyber Crime
- Have you lost money? Yes/No
- Approximate date & time of Incident/receiving/viewing of content: 18 Apr 2022 18:10
- Is there any delay in reporting? No
- Where did the incident occur?
- Snapchat
- Website Url
- Youtube
- Telegram
- Other
- Other Media: OLX
- Supporting Evidence (Upload Media/Image/Pdf): Uploaded
- Please provide any additional information about the incident: …
My thanks to Vinod, Gaurav, and the third friend. I filed my first police complaint 🙂
How the police responded is another story…
Hey, thanks a lot for sharing this.
Please also share how the police responded. We too filed a police complained but never saw any action.
Haha. Thanks for sharing this.
I went through exactly the same thing when I was relocating to Sgp too quite recently.