Man arrested for duping people on OLX posing as car dealer

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru:

Vidyaranyapura police arrested a man for allegedly posing as a car dealer and duping car buyers and sellers on the online marketplaces OLX and Quickr in the city. The accused was identified as Sunil Kumar (in pic), 30, a native of Ramanagara district. As per the sources, police have recovered three cars, one two wheeler, five mobile phones and several fake registration number plates which reportedly, the accused had been using to evade police suspicion.

Recently, a complaint had been filed by a resident of Doddabommasandra, who had placed an online advertisement wanting to sell his scooter. In his complaint, he stated that a person pretending to buy the scooter, approached him and requested for a test ride. “The person took the scooter but never came back,” the complainant claimed.

After realising that he has been cheated, the victim filed a complaint with the police. Based on the complaint, the police tracked the accused and arrested him. Following interrogation, the police recovered the stolen valuables from his possession.

Further the police found the accused to be involved in similar cases filed at different police stations including Jayanagar, Malleshwaram, Konanakunte, Begur, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, Hebbagodi in the city outskirts, apart from Channarayapatna in Hassan and Lakshmipura in Mysuru district.

Police further explained that Kumar had created fake emails and profiles on the e-commerce websites to carry out his fraudulent activities. It was also revealed that he had procured several SIM cards which were bought based on other people’s documents.

The accused had used these contact numbers to call the prospective buyers and sellers. Later the accused would dispose of those SIM cards, police added. Last week, a person from Delhi was also arrested in a similar case by the Cyber Economics and Narcotics (CEN) personnel in Bengaluru. Further investigations are still underway, police said