The Tambaram Cyber Crime Police have arrested a call centre employee from Bengaluru for impersonating a middleman on the online marketplace OLX and attempting to defraud two IT professionals. The accused, identified as Rajesh, was taken into custody following a complaint filed by Sathish, a 32-year-old IT professional, in December 2025 with the Cyber Crime Wing of the Central Crime Branch, Tambaram City Police.
The Fraudulent Scheme
An OLX user named Bharath had listed his two-year-old car for sale, while Sathish was searching for a used vehicle on the same platform. Rajesh contacted both individuals separately, falsely claiming to be acquainted with the other party. He told Bharath that a buyer was willing to pay Rs 24 lakh, significantly higher than the car's market value of approximately Rs 18 lakh. To Sathish, he offered the same car for just Rs 14 lakh.
Convinced by the deal, Sathish transferred Rs 14.5 lakh after inspecting the vehicle via a video call. The fraud was uncovered only when both men met at Sathish's residence to finalise the transaction and realised that no legitimate deal existed. The middleman had disappeared with the money.
Investigation and Arrest
Police traced Rajesh through bank transaction data and telecom records. During interrogation, Rajesh claimed that a friend had requested to use his bank account to receive funds for a relative's wedding. The mobile phone seized from the accused was traced to a previous owner who is currently lodged in Virudhunagar sub-jail, while the SIM card had been procured separately. Authorities suspect that Rajesh may not have acted alone and are now working to dismantle the network behind the fraud.
Rajesh has been remanded in judicial custody as investigations continue.
