In a crackdown on cybercrime amid the ongoing drive to make the state safer, Punjab Police’s State Cyber Crime police station has arrested a fraudster involved in multiple cases of OLX rental fraud.
The accused, identified as Paramjit Singh, a resident of Kharar in Mohali, was arrested by inspector Daljeet Singh following an analysis of cyber fraud data reported on the Pratibimb portal of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Union ministry of home affairs (MHA).
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the arrested accused had cheated at least 23 victims belonging to the states from Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, duping them of approximately ₹5 lakh through fake rental advertisements on OLX.
Sharing the modus operandi adopted by the accused person, additional director general of police (ADGP) Cyber Crime V Neeraja said that the accused Paramjit used to post fraudulent property ads on OLX, luring victims with attractive deals.
“To gain their trust, he (accused) would share forged property documents and images. Once the victims agree to rent the property, he convinced them to transfer money as an advance rent, security deposits, or registration fees via UPI or bank transfers,” she said, while adding that once the payment was made, the accused would stop responding to the customers.
The ADGP added that probe has revealed the accused used to transfer money from the customers to his different bank accounts— Axis Bank, Central Bank of India, Yes Bank and HDFC Bank— through UPI and other online modes of payment. Further investigations are underway to uncover more details, she said. A case under Sections 316(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66D of the IT Act was registered.
Meanwhile, the ADGP has advised public to be cautious of the advertisements available on OLX platform and refrain from making any advance payment. It is important to verify the advertisement before proceeding with any deal. In case of fraud, the victim should immediately call helpline 1930 to report cyber fraud or lodge a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in. For further information, ‘Cyber Mittar’ chatbot on cybercrime.punjabpolice.gov.in can be accessed.