Posing as jawan, conman dupes techie using OLX ad

Posing as an army jawan, a conman lured a 35-year-old software engineer with an OLX ad to sell his scooter and duped him of Rs 64,000.

The victim, Rammohan Gajula, working with a leading IT firm, contacted the conman through a scooter advertisement for Rs 20,000.

The conman, Shivakumar, claimed to be a sepoy from the Indian Army and agreed to sell him the scooter as he was getting transferred out of the state and wanted to give it away as soon as possible.

After negotiating the price, Rammohan agreed to transfer a part of the money online. The conman even sent the army ID card as proof on WhatsApp to gain his confidence. He had planned to buy the scooter for dropping his child to school.

Shivakumar demanded the full payment since he needed the money urgently. Rammohan transferred the entire money without verifying the vehicle documents or checking the scooter himself.

Later, Shivakumar demanded a security deposit of Rs 64,000 from him stating that the remaining cash would be returned as soon as he delivers the scooter. Since the conman claimed he was from the army, Rammohan transferred his entire salary of Rs 64,000 to his account.

The fraud came to light on November 3 when he reached BIAL to receive the scooter. Shivakumar’s mobile was switched off. The airport authorities and the police told him there was no scooter and this was a modus operandi of cheating. Rammohan headed to the cyber-crime police and lodged a complaint.