Scam Alert: Fake sellers on Quikr and OLX
Over the years we have come across several interesting and clever scams that unsuspecting victims have fallen for. However, in the last few days we have discovered a new technique that seems to have claimed plenty of victims off late. This rather innovative trick does not involve the usage of advanced technology or devices. On the other hand, it uses a simple trick of posting fake ads on online classifieds or auction websites such as Quikr, OLX and more.
The scammers seem to attract attention by posting high value goods like luxury cars from recognized brands such as Audi, BMW and others at unbelievably low prices. When they receive inquiries for these fake Quikr ads, they then proceed to demand some form of processing payment in a rather suave and smooth way that would easily fool most people.
In our case, we received a seemingly convincing email saying that the car in question is stuck in a warehouse and the seller has been immediately transferred to another country. So the car is brand new and has no registered owner. In order to complete the deal we have to first get the car registered in our name and this will require Rs. 70,000. Scammers are known to outsource this job of money collection to local money mules and this enables them to stay out of the reach of law enforcement agencies. It has also been found that once this initial ‘registration’ money has been paid, the fake sellers and scammers stop responding to all emails and calls.
Why this is almost the perfect con
All these sites encourage buyers and sellers to interact with each other and this opens up an uninterrupted channel of communication between a potential scammer and an innocent victim. Once this channel has been established, a clever scam artist can manipulate a buyer into sharing his personal details, bank account information and other personal data. This can be achieved with the help of fake phishing pages which look genuine or fraudulent emails which appear to come from official sources.
What you can do to avoid such scams
We strongly advise all visitors to such sites to be very careful when they come across ads of great products at very cheap prices. Always remember the motto – “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.”
With that in mind, here are some crucial safety tips to always keep in mind while scouring auction websites for great deals at throwaway prices.
- Never communicate with strangers over SMS. They could be using premium-rate numbers which will lead to high SMS charges for you.
- If you receive an email from a potential buyer/seller, check the email address carefully. A small spelling tweak here and there can fool almost anyone.
- If you are directed to a form or a website or webpage where you have to enter information, steer away from such pages. If not, at least examine them closely.
- Never use credit cards for such payments. If you must use a card, set aside a standalone debit card for such transactions and keep very little money in that account. That way, even if that card is compromised, your losses will be minimal.
- If you are shipping a product, ensure that you have received full payment before you actually ship the product out.
- If you are to receive a product, try not to give out your home address. Give out your office address or the address of a familiar shop or location from where you can pick up the product.
- Carefully read the FAQs of such sites before you undertake any transactions on them.
- Lastly, if someone is selling a product and asks you as a buyer to transfer some fraction of the asking price as a registration amount, do not fall for that.
Further reading on the various kinds of scams you should know about.
These and many more safety measures will help you stay protected against such potential scams. We are further investigating the case of fraudulent car ads on auction websites and will post our findings here once we have more information. Till then, stay tuned for more updates.
46 Comments
is quickheal 16 upgradation avalable for your clients. last
2/3 days i got masage continue. at last i accepted. is it legal or not.
pls confirm me.
regards
thanking you
Hi Shekhar,
Yes Quick Heal version 16 is our latest product upgrade. You can learn more about it here – https://www.quickheal.co.in/upgrade/
Regards.
Thanks,this information helps.
Excellent. Educative. Informative.
A similar fraud is being done by Rajnath Autos of Mahipalpur, Delhi. He entices simple and trusting folks like Army, Airline people etc, by offering them cars at very cheap rates saying company disposing off cars which were utilised in car shows and are presently under Diplomatic Car Pool. He takes advance. He then keeps on asking for payments as advance from the gullible victims. He gives a delivery date with emails from some foreign mission. The date keeps on extending and extending into years when the victim loses patience and asks for refund he gives it after numerous visits. If the amount is high or paid in cash, he provokes the victim to go to court as then the money is really stuck. Please be careful of this suave operator, who claims to be related to owner of Premnath Autos and has two sons working in very reputed companies, one of which is in USA.
thank you for information.
Its very useful.
uickheal 16 upgradation avalable for your clients. last
2/3 days i got masage continue. at last i accepted. is it legal or not.
pls confirm me.
prasoon
Hi Prasoon,
If you have received the message from your Quick Heal dashboard, then it is genuine. To be on a safer side, please visit the below link to get the free upgrade:
https://www.quickheal.co.in/upgrade/
Regards,
on web page no needed ads but how can remove it permanently?
Hi Deepak,
Some ads are inbuilt on webpages. You can block these ads by using browser extensions such as AdBlock Plus.
Regards,
Very important information. Thanks.
i know that, quickheal is very good and usefull antivirus. but i don’t like it’s theme. it’s looking so old although the version is 16.0 .
Hi Raju,
We appreciate you taking out the time to give us this feedback. We will pass on your message to the team concerned.
Regards,
good
its good.
thank-you for alert
i am no fling
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how i delete a virus.i use quick heal total security but it can not delete virus
Hi Sujay,
Our Support Team can help you solve this issue:
1. You can submit your query at https://bit.ly/Askus. The Team will get back to you with a solution.
2. You can also contact them at 0-927-22-33-000.
3. Alternatively, you can chat with our engineers by visiting this link >> https://bit.ly/QHSupport >> ‘Chat with Us’
Regards,
i have quickheal antivirus. do i need to have ccleaner & spybot in addition. is it helpful or harmful.
Hi Mayank,
CC cleaner is a software that helps clean junk files in your system and frees up memory. If you are using Quick Heal Total Security, then you can use its inbuilt PCTuner feature, that does the same. And if not, then you can install CC Cleaner. You do not require spybot, as Quick Heal already provides protection against spyware.
Regards,
thanku fr information
thanks for very important information.
GOOD
my quick heal antivirous sesolve now this problam is solution
i m fade up with scam fake seller quikr and olx how to protect my system with all these
Hi Rebika,
Are you getting unnecessary pop-up ads? If this is the case, you can refer to this post – https://blogs.quickheal.com/how-to-block-pop-up-ads/
Regards,
Thanks for alert
While i am browsing I got a notice that my mobile is infected and press ok to install a anti virus to remove virus, and I refused to install it.I just closed my browsing and deleted my history and private settings and seeing my mobile it looks normal but still I am having a dotted.
Hi Jaideep,
The message that you received is most likely a fake threat to trick you into installing unwanted apps (probably malicious). You did the right thing by closing the browser and deleting the history. While it seems like your device is safe, we would recommend you to run a virus scan at the earliest. If you do not have a mobile antivirus app, you can always use Quick Heal’s Free Mobile Security. Follow the link below to download the app from Google Play: https://bit.ly/QHMS_Free
Regards,
Regards,
Hiiiii Thanks for very important antivirus .my quick heal antivirus scan laptop,dextop,mobile etc.
sacan my phone plz
Hi Rocky,
You can install the Quick Heal Mobile Security app for free over Google Play and initiate a full system scan for your phone from there. The link for downloading the app is as follows: https://bit.ly/QHmobilesecurity
Regards.
i am a person who is searching the person who is operate fake company sriyogeshwarifundspvt please do not trust on him he is a scammer only and i have a proof agst him in which he accept to vikram seth that he have done all for money and given mail to him that all he is done all done by him for financial needs copy enclosed please read this mail recd from him by vikram seth
Mohan Kumar Ssriyogeshwarifundspvt@ gmail.com
Jul 11 (2 days ago)
to me
We are really sorry for wht we have done to u and we are really ashamed of tht but we dont have any option for tht and also we cant refund your fee.Dont waste your time and energy by sending SP udaipur and Inspector things again and again and calling us.If you want u take action and we will face it for our sins.
My last mail to u and i wont even reply to what ever u send or attend your calls.
Frm my heart im really sorry and ashamed but we cant give back it becuase we need it.
Sorry
Regards
quikr and olx sellers are fake…i wanted to purchse jeans and this guy he told me pay me advance n i transferred 3500/ cash but aftr 3 days also i did not recieved me jeans parcell..when tried to contact the guy he hunged up n never answered my call nor does he replies on watsapp ……the tracking number that he gave as also wrong ..please help me..how to get my cash back …sincere request never ever buy anything from quikr or olx
Hi,
Please contact the site from where this transaction was initiated. Unfortunately, we cannot help out in this matter.
Best regards.
Hi a similar incident happened with me as well.
UMESH PRADHAN
State bank of patiala
A/c No.55143730151
Ifsc code STBP0000615.
PLEASE DON’T TRUST THIS GUY HE IS A SCAMMER.
I have your quick heal secure browser in my laptop but, i don’t know that it scan properly or not. what should i do?
Hi Karishma,
May we request you to contact our technical support team. They will help you resolve this issue as soon as possible. You can reach them here – https://www.quickheal.co.in/submitticket.
Regards.
hello,
i had seen an ad on quiker about a laptop and in very cheap price which listed in my state,,,i called him and got to know that his location is out of state and he can deliver the product via courrier,, but i have to pay money in advance,,i agreed to pay him half then he also agreed,,after the transaction completed he forced me to do full transaction as his boss cant accept half in matter of safety,,i said there should be my safety also,,but he didnt listen nd not refunding my money also,,and got to see he has almost 20 ads of each state,,he has one banner of his office but god knows if it is genuine…
in this case how can i take my money back is there any means???please help
Good afternoon sir. Today I got call from a number saying that am selected as 100 customers from olx so that they are giving Samsung j7 Mobile for 3225₹. I just need to get it from nearest post office. Pls tell me that is it from olx office or a fake call. Thank you
Hi these days there are plenty of adds in quikr where people are selling new branded laptops at an unbelievably low price. Are they scammers. I understand the product might not be genuine may be Chinese products. But do they at all send the laptop with such specification or just take away the money. eg msi gt83vr titan vr pro sli is available at 30000.whereas it’s actual price is around 3.5 lakh.