An Internet Safety Lesson from Arvind Kejriwal's Daughter- Harshita's OLX Mishap

Arvind Kejriwal's daughter, Harshita Kejriwal allegedly fell prey to an OLX Scam. After Harshita tried to sell a sofa, on the reseller giant OLX, an interested buyer sent her a QR code. Post scanning the QR code, she first lost Rs 20,000 and then another 14,000. Apparently, many people have fallen to the QR code scam. Apart from the QR code, many scammers have used UPI payment links or requesting an OTP or PIN to scam users. And Arvind Kejriwal's daughter not only once, but fell for the scam twice.

Background on the story (from various reports)

Harshita put up a sofa for sale on OLX. A man approached her showing interest and he transferred a small amount into her bank account to check if the details were correct. Later, he sent her a QR code where he asked her to scan it. He assured here that this way he could transfer the amount. When she scanned the code, Rs 20,000 got deducted from her account. She confronted him the same and he sent another QR code, scanning which she lost another Rs 14,000.

The scamming methodology in such cases

It is Safer Internet Day, today and the event can teach more than one lesson. And as unfortunate as this event was for Arvind Kejriwal's daughter, many simple steps can help users stay away from such events.

More and more scammers, especially in India have become active and bold on OLX and other such websites. In fact, an influencer made headlines when he debunked such a scammer posing as Indian Army Officer. Judging from the personal encounters of influencers and now Arvind Kejriwal's daughter, these scammers target people who are trying to sell something online.

How to stay away from such scams?

Although it isn't much promoted now that everything is moving digital, avoid online payments when selling online as much as possible. Look for the red flag. No one can send money by sending their own QR code. This is a scam. To pay, they need your account number or UPI ID. In case you are not sure who you are interacting with, avoid online payments. Ask the buyer to pay upfront when they take away the item.

Secondly, if the buyer asks for a PIN or an OTP, report him/her. Do not send your account details to them. If the buyer is in a hurry to buy something, and "book" the product etc, they are trying to nab you in payment scam. Do not accept cheque as it can bounce later. Further, if the buyer asks for your debit or credit card number, do not provide the same. In fact, provide a spare mobile number different from one given in banks.