KOCHI: A youth in Kochi was recently scammed by a fraudster posing as a car seller on Facebook Marketplace. The victim, a native of Idukki residing in Kochi, saw an advertisement in the first week of November for a Maruti 800 car listed for sale. The ad claimed to be from a lawyer based in Kochi, prompting the victim to contact the seller via Facebook Messenger.
Within hours, the victim received a response directing him to continue the conversation on WhatsApp. “The victim did not realise he was communicating with a fraudster who had impersonated the lawyer. The scammer created a fake WhatsApp account using the lawyer’s photo as the profile picture,” a police officer said.
During their chat, the fraudster claimed that there were multiple inquiries for the car and pressured the victim to pay an advance to secure the vehicle. On November 6, the victim transferred Rs 2,000 via UPI. However, after sending the money, the scammer stopped responding. When the victim contacted the real lawyer to verify the ad, he discovered he had been deceived. He subsequently reported the incident to the police.
“Frauds like this are common on online platforms selling used goods. Buyers should verify the identity of sellers before making any payments. There have also been cases where sellers themselves have been scammed,” the cop added.