Bengaluru, December 15: A 39-year-old engineer from Bengaluru was duped by an online scammer, who posed as a furniture buyer on OLX app. According to police, the complainant stated that he became victim of cyber fraud while trying to sell an used bed by posting an advertisement online and lost a staggering amount of Rs 68 lakh in the process. Police said that this is the biggest amount embezzled by scammers in this manner in the city so far.

The array of developments began after Aadish (name changed), a resident of HSR Layout uploaded pictures of a second hand bed on the e-commerce platform OLX with a price tag of Rs 15,000. A person claiming to be Rohit Sharma, an owner of a furniture shop at Indiranagar contacted Aadish over the phone roughly at about 7 pm on December 6, and expressed his desire to buy the bed, reported Times of India. Cyber Fraud in Bengaluru: IT Professor Falls Prey to Click-to-Earn Scam, Loses Rs 5.2 Lakh.

Sharma told Aadish that he would transfer the money via digital payment app. After sometime, Sharma informed that he was unable to send the money and asked the victim to transfer Rs 5 to his UPI account. Aadish followed Sharma's instructions and transferred the money, following which he received Rs 10 in his account. Sharma reiterated to Aadish that due to technical glitch he was unable to process the payment. Subsequently, Aadish sent 5,000 and 7,500 to Sharma and in return received 10,000 and 15,000 respectively.

After numerous transactions, Sharma forwarded a link to Aadish claiming that he had mistakenly transferred 30,000 to Aadish's account and demanded the money back. Assuming, Sharma to be a trader with limited knowledge, Aadish clicked on the link. Thereafter, he started losing money from his account. Infosys Executive in Bengaluru Duped of Rs 3.7 Crore by Cybercriminals Posing as Officials From TRAI, CBI and Mumbai Police.

Aadish told the publication that he had lost money through IMPS transfer from his account. He also sent Rs 15 lakh and Rs 30 lakh to the account of a person named Rajesh Mishra, who was referenced by Sharma. All these transactions reportedly took place between December 6 and December 8. Based on the complaint lodged by Aadish, police have registered a case under the Information Technology Act and IPC sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2023 01:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).