Despite having so many kinds of smartphones in the market, people’s eyes tend to light up at the sound of an iPhone. There’s something about its sleek design, peppy ringtone, smooth software and the iconic logo, that just makes people go cray-cray. And a couple of men used the allure of the iPhone to their benefit.
According to Hindustan Times, some men posed as army or Border Security Force to sell iPhones and other expensive electronic products. Or rather, they promised to sell them and then disappeared. A victim of this fraud, Aman Kumar said,
“On dialling the number given at the account the caller identified himself as Somnath Giri, a sepoy in the Indian Army posted at Jaisalmer (Rajasthan). He even sent a fake ID card to me.”
Aman works with the Food Corporation of India in Sector 31. He contacted this “sepoy” after seeing an advertisement at OLX where a man named ‘Rahul’ was selling an iPhone 6. What happened next was detailed in Aman’s FIR.
Aman wasn’t the only victim of this fraud. A businessman, B.S. Bisht, tried to buy an iPhone after his 16-YO son wanted a second-hand iPhone. He said,
“My 16-year-old son saw an iPhone exchange offer on the OLX site. The fraudster said he was an Army man from Jodhpur and asked my son to pay Rs.16,000 for an iPhone 8-plus in exchange of old version of the brand.”
Following that, Bisht’s son received fake IDs, Aadhar cards and photographs of the so-called army man’s seniors and he fell for it. Bisht said that,
“It has been three months since I made the payment along with the additional charges amounting to Rs.20,000. We haven’t received any phone till now and have given a complaint in the cyber crime.”
According to reports, 90% of the cases of fraud that are registered at the cyber crime unit are committed by people acting as Army men. Deputy superintendent of police, cyber crime unit, Rashmi Yadav said that,
“There are many ways in which people are being duped on the OLX site. People should keep in mind that any kind of extra special discount on an in-demand item should not be availed as most likely it will be a case of fraud.”
She also added that,
“Preliminary investigations show that in some cases an organised gang is behind the fraud but there are individual defaulters as well. We have quizzed OLX people about the issue to help investigate the matter.”
There’s nothing wrong about craving for an iPhone. It has been the best of the best for the last decade or so. But it’s better to walk to your nearest Apple store and choose one from the racks. Or if you’re looking for a second-hand one, buy it off people who you personally know, instead of someone posing to be an army man. That’ll save you a lot of money and a ton of hassle.