How this woman escaped OLX fraud is a lesson for us all

In the web age, our lives have gone digital. Almost everything works online and we we blindly trust technology. After all, it’s here to help us, but there are always malicious minds working to misuse it. Whether you are a technology enthusiast or not, this story of a woman who saved herself from a scamster is a lesson for all of us.

 

A woman from Pune put up a product on sale on OLX priced at Rs 3500. She had almost forgotten about the advertisement as she wasn't finding any buyer for the product. Finally, she found a customer who was ready to pay the said amount, without wanting to even check the condition of the product. The man introduced himself as Vishal who lives in Mumbai but wants to buy it for his sister's kid, who lives in Pune. He even told her that the price seems low as the pram looks in great condition.

 

He said he would pay the sum online and on asking for his email ID to share details, he asked if she would share it on Whatsapp. Now, within 2 minutes she got an SMS from one of these 5 digit numbers (like 59444) saying that Rs 13,500 has been credited into her HDFC account.

 

He said the Rs 10,000 was added accidentally, and that transfer was for his mother who was in the queue at a hospital and needed it to pay bill. However, he refused to give bank details and asked her to make the transfer through Paytm.

 

She then decided to check if the money was really transferred, and realised there was no such transfer. She called the bank and the customer executive confirmed that no money has been transferred. The exec asked her to check the mode of transfer (NEFT or IMPS) and in either way it was take at least 2 hours and not possible within 2-3 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, he kept messaging her to transfer the money as it was urgent. She then called him to tell him the money wasn't transferred yet and it would take at least two hours (that is if he has really transferred) and started probing him about bank name and other details. He soon realised that she is probing. He called her after 2 hours and by the time she has realised how she had saved herself from being tricked.

 

The woman has already lodged a complaint with the Pune Police and the cyber security division. While technology is here to help, it is important that one is diligent and alert when it comes to online bank transfers. 

 

You can read the complete story below:

 

Here is something you must read if you are a person like me, who believes that technology has eased our lives. It definitely has, by letting us buy groceries, transfer money, book a cab, order everything under the sun with just a click. Something happened this morning that asked me to pause a bit and be wary while I happily make financial transactions right left and center.

It has been two months since I put up an Ad on OLX mentioning that I would like to sell Desh’s stroller. Somehow, I didn’t find a customer who would pay anywhere close to what I had quoted. I had almost forgotten that the Ad was up as there was no activity on the Ad. A couple of days ago, I received message on the website’s chat messenger asking if it was still available. I replied saying it was still available and the person agreed to pay the quoted amount. I didn’t hear from him for a day. He called up this morning.

 

He introduced himself as Vishal and told me that he likes the pram and wants to buy it. He asked why I was selling it for such a low price when the pictures are so impressive. I told him that there was no damage and it is in great condition. I suggested to him that it would be good if he came in person and checked the condition before agreeing to buy it. He said that he lives in Mumbai and he wants to buy it for her sister who lives in Pune and it is a surprise. (In my head, I went “How sweet of an uncle to do this to his niece/nephew”). He offered to make an online transfer to my account and said that his sister would come and collect it tomorrow.

On asking for his mail id for sending the details, he asked if I could share my account details on WhatsApp. I did. Within 3 minutes of me sharing the details, I received an SMS from one of these 5 digit numbers (like 59444) saying my account has been credited with 13,500 while the money that had to be transferred was 3,500. I was not sure what was happening. I pinged this person on WhatsApp to check what had happened. He said it was done by mistake. He portrayed as if it was a transfer that was intended to reach his mom and requested me to transfer 10K. He said it was urgent, he had to send it to his mom who was waiting at a hospital to pay the bill. When I asked for his account details, he asked if I could transfer through Paytm to his mom’s number. I agreed though I sensed something was fishy.

For a moment before I transferred, I wanted to check my account online and not trust the SMS. I found that there was no money transferred. I called my bank’s customer care to check if there is a possibility for such a quick transfer within three minutes. He asked me to check the transfer mode( NEFT or IMPS). In either of the cases, it would take at least 2 hours for a transfer to happen, is what the personnel informed. As I kept talking to the customer care, I kept receiving messages from Vishal saying it is urgent and his mom is waiting for the money.

 

I told him that I didn’t receive the money. I called him up to tell that it would take two hours for the transfer to happen(even if he had transferred), check what he was up to, asked him which bank he transferred from etc. He said ICICI, figured that I was probing and hung up the call. I called him 3-4 times after that and his number was busy. It took me a while to digest that I was on the verge of getting tricked and the convoluted nature of the trick shook me quite a bit. Until I sat to key in this post, I kept giving myself that benefit of doubt that he does have a sister and he wants to buy the stroller for her baby and his mom isn’t in trouble. In the hindsight, it dawned on my mind that no bank would allow a transfer until at least half an hour after adding the beneficiary. Had it occurred to me when I received the credit SMS, I wouldn’t have fallen for that mom sentiment for 10 more minutes.

 

I received a call from him after two hours which I chose to ignore. Sent him a message on WA saying ‘I didn’t receive any money in my account. Hope you stop tricking people into traps like these. I really wish you had a sister and you wanted to buy it for her son/daughter. Also, I wish your mother doesn’t fall sick and stand in a hospital queue waiting for 10,000 rupees from you’

 

How much can one misuse technology, stoop to new lows, manipulate your emotions for quick bucks! I really wish he used his intelligence that he invested in creating an account on a portal, making seemingly genuine inquiries, faking bank SMS es, cooking up tales and sharing paytm details in something else and earned 10 rupees through honesty and hard work.

 

Find below the WA chat and the SMS I received and share it with friends and family. Hope nobody falls for such frauds.

 

Here are the numbers that I received calls from and was asked to transfer money to.
Call :+91 9967957477
Paytm: +91 8948413565

 

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