VIJAYAWADA: Vijayawada Cybercrime police have arrested a cyber fraudster who is accused of cheating people through fake car deals on online marketplace OLX.
Addressing the press conference on Friday, Cybercrime DCP K Lakshmi Prasanna said the accused was identified as Bhimudu Ajith Kumar (29), a resident of Nagannagudem village in Pedavegi mandal of Eluru district. In order to earn easy money, the accused used OLX to target individuals looking to buy or sell cars and cheat them.
During the investigation, it was revealed that he posed as a car dealer and contacted people who had listed vehicles for sale on the platform. At the same time, he also pretended to be a car owner while approaching genuine car dealers.
After creating a false agreement between the seller and dealer, the accused would mislead the dealer into transferring the payment to bank accounts operated by him.
These accounts were typically opened in the names of gold shop owners and used as mule accounts to conceal the money trail. “Once the funds were deposited, the accused immediately purchased gold worth the same amount and later converted it into cash in states such as Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,” said the DCP.
The investigation further revealed that Ajith Kumar is reportedly involved in 12 cases across three states, eight in Andhra Pradesh, two in Telangana, and two in Tamil Nadu, cheating victims of nearly Rs 94 lakh. Police recovered assets worth about Rs 50 lakh, including Rs 37 lakh in cash and 49 grams of gold.