Reports of people falling prey to online scams continue to surge. However, in what is being termed as ‘one of the biggest online scams’, a tech professional based in Bengaluru incurred a loss of a staggering Rs. 68 lakhs while attempting to sell a used bed on OLX for Rs. 15,000. According to a report by Times of India, the 39-year-old engineer, who goes by the alias Aadish, fell victim to scammers who posed as potential buyers and tricked him into providing his OTP (one-time password), resulting in a loss of Rs. 68 lakhs over a three-day period.
The incident unfolded when Aadish posted an ad on OLX to sell an old bed at a quoted price of Rs. 15,000. Soon, he was contacted by an individual claiming to be Rohit Sharma. Sharma contacted Aadish on December 6, expressing interest in buying the bed. After negotiating the price, Sharma informed Aadish that he would make a digital payment. However, Sharma called back shortly to say he was unable to transfer the money.
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Sharma instructed Aadish to send Rs. 5 to his UPI ID, promising to reimburse the amount. Aadish complied, and Sharma returned Rs. 10. Subsequently, Sharma requested Aadish to send him Rs. 5,000, returning Rs. 10,000. This pattern continued, with Sharma asking for increasing amounts and returning a larger sum each time. Eventually, Sharma claimed to have mistakenly sent Rs. 30,000 and asked Aadish to return the money by clicking on a link and sharing the OTP.
After Aadish followed these instructions, money began disappearing from his account. Despite Sharma’s claims of technical issues hindering the return of money, Aadish continued sending funds, assuming Sharma’s lack of knowledge about online payments.
Aadish recounted the situation, stating, “The next links he shared were in the lakhs. As I started losing money through IMPS transfer from my account, I asked him to return the same.” Aadish claimed to have lost Rs 68.6 lakh between December 6 and December 8.
The news has not only puzzled internet users but also raised doubts. Some questioned Aadish’s decisions, with one user on a micro-blogging site expressing disbelief, “I’m adequately baffled! The guy is an engineer… shouldn’t his internal alarm stop him right after the first ‘Send Rs. 5 so I can Rs. 10 back’ in the long charade?” Another user questioned the story’s coherence, “This story makes no sense at all. He says he voluntarily transferred 15L twice and 30L once for a transaction which started off as the sale of an old bed. Any (and) why would anyone keep 68L in their savings account?”
Others speculated on the source of Aadish’s funds, with one user suggesting, “Bizarre. I wonder how this kind of guy would make 68L in first place. May be some money handler got scammed and making up a bed story.”
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Another user, with a touch of humour, recommended, “Dear Police. He doesn’t deserve the money. Please stop the investigation. But investigate how this idiot managed to have 68L in his account.”
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