[akhilesh]

Tried searching the forum but could not find a thread on this topic so thought of starting new one. Mods please merge if this has been discussed in a different thread.

This thread is to make everyone aware and also to seek HELP !! from all the fellow members on a difficult situation that we've landed ourselves due to an OLX ad we posted to sell our Enfield Classic in January this year. The bike is registered in my brother's name and I posted the ad on his behalf. The address in the RC is different than the address where my brother currently stays.

One guy got interested and had a chat with me and wanted to see the bike but since I am out of India for nearly an year now I gave my brother's number to coordinate on Whatsapp. The guy pinged my brother and said that he is in Gujarat and to ensure all papers are sorted, asked for a copy of the RC to be sent to him via whatsapp and my brother did (MISTAKE). He kept pushing for a image of the other side of the RC too ( the one with the chip) which got my brother suspicious and he stopped entertaining his calls. Few days later we saw an ad posted in OLX with images of our bike and at a price much lower. I immediately reported the ad to OLX and it was removed. But my brother kept getting calls from strange numbers asking if the bike is for sale. One day in February 2 guys landed at the address mentioned on the RC and started enquiring about the bike to our neighbours there and said they have paid token money for it. Not finding the bike they returned. We thought this must be some fraud and we immediately disabled our own ad on OLX.

But again yesterday we got to know from our neighbours that some officials came looking for my brother and had an ID card which had my brother's detail but a different pic asking if he stays here. It seems that the fraud who had posted the ad and asked for the RC made a fake ID with some other pic and took token money from a couple of buyers and they had lodged a complaint.

Today I searched OLX and found close to 5 ads with our bike pics which could probably be the ones that were used to dupe the prospective buyers.

Now please suggest what should we do in this situation ? Someone suggested we lodge and FIR ourselves but would this land us in any trouble instead ?

We are still in possession of the bike and never made a deal nor signed any sale letter in such a situation how strong is our case if we have to prove our innocence. If it is the RC which was actually misused then for that matter anyone having a copy of the RC and pics of the vehicle can go about duping anyone which is scary

[earthian]

I understand your anxiety. However, you have nothing to fear, since you have committed no wrong. I would go to the police (Probably this would come under the cyber crime unit) and lodge an FIR against the people who are either impersonating your brother or trying to sell goods that belong to you.
Going to the police would also cool down hotheads who have been conned and are looking for quick solution by trying to take possession of the bike.

[pramodkumar]

I keep seeing my bikes on OLX, its a common modus operandi. When you are sharing any pics of the documents you should mask the name and address. Never share any ID cards. Tell them that you are not comfortable with a deal sight unseen.

Always insist that the buyer comes and checks the bike before any sale. Also ensure that you get the name changed post sale.

Selling a vehicle is not as simple as selling any household goods, You have to ensure that name transfer happens, This is specifically at a time when vehicles are used for crimes and any loose ends can cause a lot of unwanted trouble.

If you look at this issue, its not just because criminals have a platform to con people, all time high unemployment and ease of conning people is a big moral booster for these low lifes.

As the saying goes if its too good to be true, it actually might be.

Pramod

[the_skyliner]

File a complaint with Cyber crime branch of the address where the officials visited. This is a classic case of ID theft. You don't need to worry but do approach the police as early as possible to make your side clear.

The other party will calm down once they understand that it's not you or your brother who duped them.

[boniver]

Hi, I believe it's best for you to lodge an FIR ASAP. For all you might know, the aggravated parties (who've been conned by the fake seller) may choose to file FIRs against your brother in a bid to recover their money. In that case, he'll be in a soup although he knew about the fraud and therefore should've filed an FIR first. Lawyers/law enforcement officers on the forum could provide better advice, but this is what my basic understanding of the situation tells me I should do.

All the best, and let's hope there's a quick respite to this.

[VaahanYogi]

You need not worry as the ones who got conned have not made any payment to you and cannot make any allegation against you

[RaSing]

Step1 : Create a new Id or multiple ids on Olx and try to get in touch with the ad poster . Act as a customer and see what is he upto. Get to know the modus operandi.
Step 2 : In case he is upto some thing serious, report to OLX ,Police and RTO
In case he is not, then relax. I have myself seen my car photos on Olx being used by other people.

[Lalvaz]

Akhilesh - I would advise you to lodge an FIR against the perpetrators. Take details of the 5 fraudulent advertisements with your bike as evidence. The people who have claimed to have paid some token towards your bike might think you are the culprit and hence it will be best if you have a police case lodged first to protect your interest.


Also lodge a complaint against the fake ads on OLX to prevent future occurrences.

[akhilesh]

Thank you all for your suggestions. We went ahead and filed the complaint and took a receiving of the application for reference. Fingers crossed that this sorts things right.

We also called the imposter and he tried threating us of consequences and sounded panicked. I hope he'll be cautioned and not repeat on our RC at least.

[procrastinator]

Originally Posted by akhilesh

Thank you all for your suggestions. We went ahead and filed the complaint and took a receiving of the application for reference. Fingers crossed that this sorts things right.

We also called the imposter and he tried threating us of consequences and sounded panicked. I hope he'll be cautioned and not repeat on our RC at least.

All sounds good.
It makes sense to inform OLX of such a case.
They would atleast make some changes in ads in future to curb fraudsters.

[hserus]

These are Nigerian fraudsters doing this. I’ve even seen one or two ads they placed on tbhp classifieds that the admins promptly removed when I spotted the ads and pointed it out. So beware - don’t share your RC / ID proof, mask the car number when posting ads. And I’d you see an ad for what looks like a car with a bargain price and the crook says something like it is at Chennai airport held in customs, come pay the release fee and take the vehicle .. then you know for sure that it’s a scam. You don’t even need to recognise the Nigerian accent of the guy who answers the phone.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by akhilesh

Thank you all for your suggestions. We went ahead and filed the complaint and took a receiving of the application for reference. Fingers crossed that this sorts things right.

We also called the imposter and he tried threating us of consequences and sounded panicked. I hope he'll be cautioned and not repeat on our RC at least.

Actually, you should have pretended to be customers who are willing to pay full cash. And asked him to come and meet you personally at a common location. Called the cops and ask them to come too.

If the cops dont want to come, ask 10 of your friends to land up for a tiny bit of mob justice.

[swiftnfurious]

I find no reason for anyone to see the documents before they see the vehicle itself. When I was coordinating sale of my friend's Linea, one buyer asked for RC details. I asked him why and he gave some bull*. I told him that documents can be verified in person when he checks the car out and I will not be able to share the copy on WhatsApp or mail. Interestingly, he never carried on the conversation.

Genuine buyers will always take a look at the vehicle before anything. If the vehicle is crap, will they buy even if the documents are in place? Alternatively, if good pics of the vehicle are added in the ad, thats more than a proof the documents in all likelihood are in place.

[rajendra2278]

Well, first of all, I'm surprised about the so called prospective buyers who have paid token money to the fraudsters, before even looking at the vehicle in person. Doesn't matter if the vehicle is coming at dead cheap price, how can someone pay the token money to some third party, before even looking at the vehicle.
I presume the above point is enough to defend your case.

Say, someone has bribed RTO officials, and got RC information of some vehicles. And, based on this, they have published sale ads on different platforms. What if some buyers like above have paid token advance purely based on some images and RC copy, without even looking at the vehicles. Whose mistake is it then?
I might be harsh here, but, it is purely the mistake of the people who have paid token advance without looking at the vehicle. Can it be even argued otherwise (say in a court), like it is somehow mistake of the actual vehicle owner?

[Lobogris]

It is very easy to get RC details or even an e-copy of an RC online. You simply need to input a registration number. Hence sharing your RC online is not as critical as some may believe. Of course it is prudent to avoid sharing it with unknown persons.