HYDERABAD: Nationalism, or its exploitation, is the flavour of the season. In a rather bizarre case, cyber fraudsters in the city are posing as army officers who have just been transferred on an ‘emergency basis’ and need to get rid of their cars urgently. As many as five persons in Rachakonda commissionerate jurisdiction have fallen prey to these fraudsters in the recent past.
The victims, all cab drivers, came across advertisements for used cars being sold at very cheap rates on the online platform OLX. These advertisements, they found, were posted through profiles with pictures of men in Indian Army uniforms.
During the interaction, the ‘officers’ told the victims that they had been transferred to different locations on an emergency basis and needed to relocate immediately. They said they needed to sell their vehicles as soon as possible. “The vehicle is at the airport, you can take possession after paying the full amount,” most of them were told. All of them deposited lakhs of rupees, only to find out later that they had been duped.
Shocking to see fraudsters using Army uniforms: cops
In fact, One victim was told to collect the vehicle from the airport parking area after paying parking and ‘customs clearance charges’. In the pictures shown on the online platform, the ‘officers’ could be seen sitting in their offices or standing beside his official vehicles. When the victims called the numbers provided in the advertisements, they were asked to call on Whatsapp numbers for ‘security reasons’. Police officials told Express that while the modus operandi itself is not new, it is perhaps the first time photographs of men in Army uniforms are being used by fraudsters. “It is quite shocking,” said one official.
S Harinath, ACP cybercrimes Rachakonda said that the vehicles in the ads were priced above `10 lakh, while their asking prices were less than `2 lakh. “Victims saw the pictures of users in Army uniforms and walked into the trap. In such cases, victims rarely physically check the vehicle they are trying to buy,” he said.