[akhilesh]

Thought I will update. Got the complaint (Not FIR) registered in the police station.

Well the Menace continues and the Fraudsters continue to put pics of our bike in close to 6-7 ads daily which I constantly monitor and report to OLX and get them blocked.They have gone to an extent of using some other bike pics and using our names. Same ads are posted from numerous different locations. This is very frustrating !!

The people who are duped still continue to come to our house and they are turned away. It has become a kind of habit now.

We went to police station to ask if this should be reported to Cyber Cell but they said they will do it themselves and assure us not to worry. More than worrying has become disturbing for us.

I see no hope of this stopping but just wanted to warn guys through this forum that 'Royal Enfield' is the most fraudulent section in OLX and fraudsters are taking advantage of this and duping people by posting ads at ridiculously low prices so BEWARE.

Some links to fraud ads for reference :

https://www.olx.in/item/royal-enfiel...iid-1512832080
https://www.olx.in/item/classic-350-cc-iid-1512795048

Some links showing our bike pics :
https://www.olx.in/item/royal-enfiel...iid-1512835483
https://www.olx.in/item/royal-enfiel...iid-1512834594

[hserus]

Originally Posted by akhilesh

We went to police station to ask if this should be reported to Cyber Cell but they said they will do it themselves and assure us not to worry. More than worrying has become disturbing for us.

They have given you a CSR and that is all. Which means they filed it and will take no action on it.

Did you contact OLX to take down the fraud ads?

[dreamz_mak]

I think i faced a similar situation just now, I have the latest WagonR for sale listed on OLX, got a call from a number. He says he is from Thane, wanted to buy my car (at full price) and wanted photos of the car and RC and insurance copy of the vehicle.

I sent him photos of the car (didn't redact the number plate), but in the RC and insurance copy, i redacted the the name not the surname, end of Chassis & engine number and address of the owner. Did the same for Insurance Policy.
Rest of the data was visible. He said he wanted to see everything and wanted to verify and if I was interested in selling the car or not.

I told him clearly that i didn't trust him and he will get to see the original documents when he visits to buy the car. He then tells me he is in Jaipur and won't be able to visit. I said its fine when he comes to pick up the car he can check during that time, he then hung up on me.

[iamahunter]

I think this is not just with OLX. But also some buy back agents.

I had a strange experience when I was thinking to trade my Swift in exchange of a VW Vento. I had just visited the showroom and had not even finalized the car/variant. When I told about exchanging the current car, the sales person insisted on getting it evaluated. I was requesting him to hold on till I finalize to which he was like, get it evaluated, no harm. I was like OK, send your valuation guy to my office.

Next day, a guy comes to my office in order to see the car. I ask if he has any ID, to which the obvious reply was a 'No'. However, I let him inspect my car and he takes a few pictures (atleast 20) of the interior and outside.
I am fine till now, still thinking about why so many images has he been taking. Then he asks for the Insurance and RC, I show him the soft copy on my phone. He's like, "ye nahi sir, original dikhaiye, photu leni hai".Now I get suspicious and ask for a proper justification. He fumbles, and is unable to answer in the same(looks like a fresher ). Red Flag.
I give him a couple of minutes to answer, but still no answer. His next words - 'Saar, original jaane dijiye, vo saftcapy share kar dijiye'. I appreciate his confidence, and politely ask him to leave giving no reasons.

Next, the showroom guy calls up, I think its about the Vento model negotiations, but his questions are only about the Swift and the RC and Insurance images. Somehow, not very confidence inspiring. I decide to back off the deal. Probably and thankfully saved from the painful ordeal to come.

[srini1785]

OLX is the den of such fraudsters. There are other such rings operating out of facebook too. You should be careful not only selling but also buying. One such incident happened in Whitefield, Bangalore. A guy saw an ad for a car in OLX and fixed an appointment with the seller to meet at a point to check out the car and was never seen thereafter. This was sometime back and i don't know if this case is closed.

[penpavan]

OLX is hotbed of fraudsters. Recently I put a furniture on sale and I got 3-4 messages asking my contact number within 1 hour. Each of them called me and said they are going to buy it and going to pay me full money right then and there and asked my UPI number. To avoid suspicion they say - please delete the ad soon as you receive the money so that no one else would buy. You almost believe them.

I agreed to one of such guys. He said he is going to transfer the full amount right now and send couple of people next day to pickup. I gave my number. He sent QR code saying it is his swiping machine code and that I should scan and accept. I just did that. (and more..) I got suspicious when he said QR code from swiping machine. So I decided to do everything carefully. After scanning I checked in the Phone Pay app, instead of "Receive" the button read "Send". Wow. I aborted the transaction and told him I got what he was trying to do. He denied and kept saying "sir pls complete the transaction., my money is already debited". I bashed him and hung up.

[ramnaresh_2000]

I have placed advert on OLX to sell my car, this guy called me and asked to send copy of RC. He did not visit me and did not do TD of the vehicle.

I insisted on checking vehicle first and then check RC in person, I am not willing to share RC copy. However, this guy is insisting, I am sensing fraud here.

Can someone transfer car loan to other person name without clearing loan? Is it possible?

[Engine_Roars]

Originally Posted by ramnaresh_2000

I have placed advert on OLX to sell my car, this guy called me and asked to send copy of RC. He did not visit me and did not do TD of the vehicle.

I insisted on checking vehicle first and then check RC in person, I am not willing to share RC copy. However, this guy is insisting, I am sensing fraud here.

Can someone transfer car loan to other person name without clearing loan? Is it possible?

Not sure about the loan part but this sounds fishy. He did not visit and has not driven the vehicle yet and is ready to transfer the loan? Would you buy a vehicle without driving or having a look? Back off while you still can and block him without any further conversation.

[amol4184]

I have an ad on olx and people keep asking me to share RC copy. What's the game here? I haven't sent it to anyone and insist that they come and see the car first.
The RC details can be found on the website with just the registration number too. I have redacted the number from photos because old habit. Is that why everyone needs RC copy?

[JithinR]

Originally Posted by amol4184

I have an ad on olx and people keep asking me to share RC copy. What's the game here? I haven't sent it to anyone and insist that they come and see the car first.
The RC details can be found on the website with just the registration number too. I have redacted the number from photos because old habit. Is that why everyone needs RC copy?

I generally check the Traffic Police website to see if the used car I am looking at has any pending traffic fines.

Other than that since I always start a conversation with "Do you own the car on the listing i.e. is your name on the RC card" on my first call itself, all I have to do is verify RC card details (just looking for ownership confirmation and if the car is no longer under Hypothecation) just before the test drive in person.

Everyone redacts the number plate these days. At most they would show the state and district. You can share just the RC card with your name and car number shown if you really sense the other guy is genuine (in case they are not comfortable with checking the VAHAN website...besides I think you now need an account created to be able to do so).

All other details on the card are not really required.

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by amol4184

I have an ad on olx and people keep asking me to share RC copy. What's the game here? I haven't sent it to anyone and insist that they come and see the car first.
The RC details can be found on the website with just the registration number too. I have redacted the number from photos because old habit. Is that why everyone needs RC copy?

There are a number of reasons why they ask which can be answered by putting yourself in a buyer’s position.

-need to see the VIN (for getting service history, date of mfg etc)
-sometimes the RC has BS-III / IV info too
-to check if vehicle had a mismatch in insurance date and purchase date
-details like engine capacity to correlate the model info mentioned in advertisements

Many sellers are not aware of all these things and as a buyer I would want to be sure of all this before spending time to visit and check out the car. Simple step, rather than bombarding an ignorant seller with technical information, just ask for the RC.

All this is why I would like to ask for the RC if the owner cannot provide me the individual details I ask for.

What fraudsters do it for can only be answered by someone who has been a victim.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Tgo

What fraudsters do it for can only be answered by someone who has been a victim.

Never share the unredacted RC scan - just see the opening post:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ml#post4559479 (OLX fake ad victim - Do NOT ever share a pic of your RC book with online buyers)

[sarav100]

Never ever, even by mistake share your car’s identification details on online portal like OLX, Quikr, etc.

A person from Ferozpur district, Punjab had put up an advertisement on olx for selling his Mahindra Scorpio (1st generation - facelift model) without masking registration number plates. Now the same registration number has been found on Mahindra Bolero involved in the murder incident of punjabi singer Shubhdeep Singh, also known as Sidhu Moosewala.

It is pretty much evident that Scorpio owner is a victim of identity theft but even after that I’m sure he’ll have to go through some police enquiry and investigations since the registration number used illegally was available for public viewing on Olx advertisement.

News Video Link

[zurura023]

OLX is filled with fraudsters and you really need to be careful while dealing with people there. Add to that the lowballers and people just window shopping with no real interest in buying. You really got to weed out genuine buyers/sellers here. Having that said, I have a bit of experience of selling quite a few things on OLX, including my old Vento and even buying a couple of things.

Here is a basic procedure that I follow when I am selling something online.
1. Never post any image that reveals any identity information about you - this includes invoices, RC cards, registration plates, even your house or locality info

2. I only respond to people who have an account which is at least 6-8 months old. No new profiles. This is a dead give away as most scammers that have approached are with an account created within the past day or so. This ain't fail proof but just another parameter. I check their OLX profile if it seems genuine - like other listed items by them

3. Only after some diligence, I move to WhatsApp. I do ask for their full name and some ID or social media profile. In case they are a bit paranoid, they can do that when I meet them. I don't deal with shipping hassle or online payments without meeting.

4. In the meanwhile, I reverse google their phone numbers, email IDs, names or do general checks on Social media to see if the person is genuine.

5. I typically meet them at a public spot and try and take their photo after seeing their ID. I do take a photo of their vehicle if that is possible as well.

6. On payments, although I prefer online payments otherwise, I ask for cash if I was not able to satisfactorily "google" the person earlier. In case of online payments, I would not share any IDs or scan any codes. I ask for Google pay on the number that I was contacting them. I check confirmation of payment in google pay and in my bank account app separately. I don't rely on the text messages solely.


These are not fail proof but just few simple steps to safeguard yourself and they don't consume much time. Happy to improve my SOP from folks here.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by sarav100

Never ever, even by mistake share your car’s identification details on online portal like OLX, Quikr, etc.

A person from Ferozpur district, Punjab had put up an advertisement on olx for selling his Mahindra Scorpio (1st generation - facelift model) without masking registration number plates. Now the same registration number has been found on Mahindra Bolero involved in the murder incident of punjabi singer Shubhdeep Singh

Anyone can simply walk on any street and see and note down thousands of registration numbers. There is no particular risk in posting a photo with the registration number.