Apple is considered one of the most popular brands when it comes to customer loyalty and quality products. The company has the tendency of making its fans curious about latest smartphones and their features. There are people who want to buy an iPhone but can’t afford a new one so they visit websites like OLX and Quickr to buy old phones. These websites help people to sell their pre-owned devices and get good prices. But unfortunately, these platforms are full of scammers and many cases have evolved in which buyers have been duped by the seller for several different reasons.
According to a recent report by a well-known media house, many people have been scammed by fraudsters who attract buyers with lucrative offers by showing very low prices on expensive electronics like iPhones and high-quality speakers and sell them duplicate products.
A victim of such fraud is Mr Aman Kumar who wanted to buy an iPhone 6 off of OLX. The seller who posed as someone working in the Indian Army, who used fake Aadhar details to Aman in order to gain his trust. A deal got fixed between the two for ₹12,500 and an extra charge of ₹1550 for the courier. The fraudster, who had used the name of ‘Rahul’, even sent a fake receipt to Aman, after which the buyer transferred the whole amount to ‘Rahul’ via Paytm which included security and GST worth Rs 5000. Since then, Aman has been waiting for over a month but hasn’t received his phone yet.
Another victim named B.S Bisht, who is a businessman, tried buying a 2nd hand iPhone from OLX for his son. He also got in touch with a soldier from Jodhpur who was ready to exchange his iPhone 8 plus for ₹16000 plus an older iPhone that Bisht owned. After some talks, the 16-year-old son received fake ids, Aadhar cards and even photographs of supposed seniors of the officer, which made him trust the fraudster. A similar thing happened with Bisht also and they are waiting for the phone.
Also Read: How This Woman Saved Herself From An Online Scam Is a Lesson For Us
A complaint has been filed in the cybercrime unit of Mumbai Police and according to them, almost 90% cases of fraud in India’s cyber world are committed by fraudsters posing as an armed forces personnel. The police team is in talks with OLX and initial investigations into the matter have revealed gangs as well as individuals at work in this scheme of plans.
We suggest our audience to be very alert and aware about such scams as it can happen to anybody. If you want 2nd hand products, you should maybe try someone you know or a local trusted mobile shop.
