The Ola Electric Scooter Purchase Scam

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Despite the title, this has nothing to do with the scooter or the company. But it is clear that a pan-Indian gang is carrying out the Ola Electric Scooter Purchase Scam. Ola sells its electric scooters without a substantial dealership network in India.

The majority of e-scooter sales take place online. The online sales procedure of Ola is now being replicated by scammers to lure their victims. There are around 1000 registered cases with the cyber unit of the police across the country.

The Ola Electric Scooter Purchase Scam

According to the police record, the Ola Electric Scooter scam was started by two individuals from Bengaluru. Recently, a group of 20 fraudsters were busted and arrested by the Delhi cyber crime police.

In the year 2022, scammers were detained in several different locations across the nation. These include Bengaluru, Patna, and Gurugram, according to the sources.

Scammers created a website that looks exactly like the real Ola Electric company website. Then they prey on people looking to reserve their Ola Electric scooters,

On October 7, 2022, a scamming lawsuit was filed by the cyber crime police. The scammers had sought out those who were interested in purchasing an electric scooter or learning more about their purchasing options.

The two in Bangalore then distributed the mobile numbers to the other gang members in various cities across the nation as soon as the data of the prospective buyers was logged.

Then the gang members called and requested that the victims transfer Rs. 499 to reserve the electric scooter. Next, the con artists demanded a deposit of Rs. 60,000–Rs. 70,000 from the victims to cover the cost of the insurance and transportation. There have also been reports of con artists demanding Rs. 13,000 for delivery fees.

Modus Operandi Ola Electric Scooter Purchase Scam

The victim was willing to purchase an Ola electric scooter. He first downloaded the Ola application to find out more information about the e-scooter.

He went to the fake website at this point and provided his contact information. First, the con artists demanded Rs. 499 for the booking after the call. Believing the website to be authentic, the victim paid3 the money using the PayU app.

He received an email the next day with a list of all the possible financing options. A payment link was created and sent to WhatsApp. The complainant followed the financial plan and paid a down payment of Rs. 30,000.

His loan was approved for a total of 72,000 rupees. This was a ruse to make everything seem legitimate. The victim was then asked for an additional payment of Rs. 13,000 which ultimately made him suspicious. The victim went to the cybercrime unit to file the FIR after realising what had happened.

More than 1000 people duped

More than a thousand people have fallen victim to Ola Electric Scooter Purchase Scam. Many people have lost their money to this trap. In response to Ola Electric Scooter Purchase Scam, the cybercrime cell raided the Patna-based call centre.

Seven laptops, 114 SIM cards, and more than 60 mobile phones have been seized from the accused. The Police have also located 25 bank accounts with over Rs 5 crore in transactions.

Ola Electric Scooter Purchase Scam serves as yet another reminder of the need for caution while making any payment online. Users must always use the merchant’s official website or app to make payments.

How To Avoid Ola Electric Scooter Purchase Scam

Being cautious while shopping online is always a good idea. As technology is developing quickly, scammers have found various new ways to scam people.

Therefore it is advised to keep a few things in mind in order to avoid online scams like Ola Electric Scooter Purchase Scam.

  1. Only access secure and authorised websites
  2. Use only trusted applications, and only download them
  3. Use caution when driving while making payments.
  4. Maintain the most recent version of your device (laptop, smartphone, etc.).
  5. Never divulge private information online.
  6. Never answer calls requesting remote access to your device.

Conclusion

Scammers keep changing their way of operations according to the trend. Hence, it is more difficult for people to stay away from them. Ola Electric Scooter Purchase Scam highlights the importance of acting responsibly when conducting online transactions.

Users should always make payments through the official website or app of the company. Customers are rarely asked to pay through alternative channels by business owners. We hope that the victims’ money will be returned to them soon.