Teen Girl Loses ₹90,000 in OLX Book Sale Scam

BENGALURU: An 18-year-old girl from Sidedahalli, North Bengaluru, fell victim to an online scam after trying to sell her manga books via OLX. What began as an innocent attempt to earn some pocket money turned into a costly mistake as she was duped of ₹90,000 by a fraudster posing as a buyer.

The victim, Sonal (name changed), posted an ad on June 13 to sell One Piece: East Blue Volumes 4–9. On June 15, she was contacted by someone identifying himself as Ashok Agarwal (mobile: 7041855882), who immediately agreed to purchase two books for ₹1,500.

Speaking in Hindi, the man gained her trust, saying he’d send an employee to pick up the books and would pay in advance. He insisted on verifying her bank account by sending her a QR code for ₹1. Though the initial message said “transaction failed,” the amount was credited, making the method appear genuine.

Encouraged, Sonal scanned another QR code supposedly for the actual ₹1,500. Instead, money was deducted from her account. When she questioned it, the fraudster blamed technical glitches and sent more QR codes. Over several transactions, amounts were siphoned off from both her and her mother’s UPI accounts, totalling nearly ₹90,000.

Realising the fraud, her father stepped in and contacted the man, warning him. The family then rushed to the police, who quickly froze the scammer’s bank account.