Vizag man duped of Rs 4 lakhs through a fake advertisement on OLX

Cyber crime has claimed yet another victim in Vizag. Shiva Shankar, a resident of Seethammadhara, came across a fake advertisement for a second hand Toyota Innova on the online selling platform OLX. To express his interest, Mr. Shankar called the number that was attached to the advertisement.

Padma Reddy, who answered the call, informed Mr. Shankar that the vehicle was in the custody of the security zone of the Airports Authority of India at the Visakhapatnam International Airport. Mr. Shankar was given the phone number of Mr. Gupta, who was cited as the terminal manager, saying he’s the person to contact in order to take a look at the car.

A person posing to be Mr. Gupta over the phone told Mr. Shankar to deposit an amount of Rs. 2.87 lakhs as a security deposit in order to take a look at the car. He was also told that the amount would be refunded if he did not like the car. Mr. Shankar trusted him and transferred the amount. On reaching the Vizag airport, Mr. Shankar was told to deposit another Rs. 1.14 lakhs for insurance and tax. Once again, Mr. Shankar transferred the amount. Following this, Mr. Shankar went ahead to meet the terminal manager Mr. Gupta.

It was then revealed that Mr. Gupta had no knowledge about the transactions and that someone posing as him had initiated such transactions. Mr. Shankar has lodged a complaint with the cyber crime department of Vizag police. Reportedly, CI Gopinath said they have registered the case and are carrying out investigations to find the imposter.