OLX scams in India and how to sell or buy safely

The tricks that come up again and again

Delhi Police and OLX's own help centre describe the same handful of scripts. The item and the story change; the shape does not.

• The defence buyer or seller. Someone says they are in the Army or a paramilitary force, posted far away, and sends an ID card or a photo in uniform. OLX warns that scammers share fake defence IDs to win trust.
• The QR code to receive money. The buyer sends a QR code or payment link and says it will credit you. Scanning it and entering your PIN sends money out of your account.
• The small payment first. They send ₹1 or a small amount to look genuine, then a QR code or request for a much larger sum.
• The token or courier fee. A seller asks for a booking amount, delivery charge or airport charge before you have seen the item, then stops answering.
• The fake screenshot or courier receipt. A picture of a payment or dispatch slip, with no money behind it.
• The delivery boy. A second person, introduced as the courier, joins the calls to ask for one more fee. The Tribune reported a Jalandhar case where a fake army seller and his delivery boy took ₹20,000 this way for a scooter.

How the QR code trick takes your money

A QR code is a way to pay, not to be paid. OLX's help centre says scanning a QR code always starts a payment from your account, and that OLX never needs a QR code for a deal.

Delhi Police describe what happens next: when the first scan takes money, the buyer calls it a mistake and sends a new code for double the amount. Every scan takes more. More on this trick in our guide to the UPI PIN scam.

How to sell safely on OLX

• Keep the conversation in OLX chat rather than moving to WhatsApp, as OLX recommends.
• Meet in a public, well-lit place, in daytime, and tell someone where you are going.
• Take the full amount before you hand over the item. OLX advises against partial payments.
• Check the credit in your own bank or UPI app. A screenshot or SMS is not proof.
• Slow down when a buyer agrees at once, cannot meet and is in a hurry. Delhi Police name urgency as a warning sign.
• Never share an OTP, your UPI PIN or bank details. OLX says it will never ask for them.

How to buy safely on OLX

• See and test the item before you pay. OLX's own advice is to complete payment only after you have inspected it.
• Do not pay a token, booking amount or delivery charge to a seller you have not met.
• For vehicles and phones, check the papers: registration, invoice, warranty card and serial number.
• Treat a price far below the market as a reason to check harder, not to hurry.
• Keep the chat and your payment record until the deal is long finished.

Signs of a scam and signs of a normal deal

If it already happened

1. Call your bank straight away and ask them to stop or hold the payment if they still can.
2. Email OLX at safety@olx.in or call 9999140999 from your registered number, with the ad ID, chat screenshots, payment proof and the scammer's number.
3. Block and report the user and the ad inside the OLX app.
4. Keep every screenshot, UPI reference number and call log. Your bank and the police will ask for them.

• Call 1930The national cyber fraud helpline. Call within hours if money left your account.
• cybercrime.gov.inFile a complaint online and keep the acknowledgement number.
• Chakshu on Sanchar SaathiReport a fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp number.

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