The Internet has taken the world by storm. Unfortunately, with this growth, some conmen are finding a new way to earn an undeserved living. OLX Kenya has not been spared either. I have been conned once on this site and I know too well the pain of losing some hard earned cash.
That is the
reason I am starting a campaign hoping to educate Kenyans on how to buy and
sell goods on OLX without getting conned like I did. Here are several tactics
that conmen use to get you into their traps. (Please Share This Article Widely CLICK HERE).
Tactic One: Robbery without violence
As I’ve already told you, I am a recent victim of conmanship
on OLX. After my incident, I made an effort to involve the police in trying to track
and capture the culprit. However, I was astonished by the response I received from
the officers.
They told me that I am one among many individuals who have been conned and I should not consider tracking down the culprits. In addition, they showed me a list of hundreds of people who were conned via this site.
They told me that I am one among many individuals who have been conned and I should not consider tracking down the culprits. In addition, they showed me a list of hundreds of people who were conned via this site.
The most
unfortunate thing is that none of these culprits have ever been apprehended.
One of the cases that caught my attention was a case about a woman who was robbed
of all her household property.
How did this happen? The lady invited the “prospective buyer” to her home to see what she was selling. Little did she know that the day would turn out to be her worst ever.
How did this happen? The lady invited the “prospective buyer” to her home to see what she was selling. Little did she know that the day would turn out to be her worst ever.
The lady had decided to sell her T.V, DVD
and radio in order to clear her son’s school fees. I was touched by this case
and if I had the ability to pay her off, I would not hesitate to do it. So sad
it is to learn of this. The guy claiming to be an OLX buyer sprayed her with chemicals that made her sleep. After 6 hours, she woke up in an empty house. Be warned about inviting these people to your homesteads.
Golden Tip: Avoid meeting in secret venues
Many people have lost their goods and
even life while meeting with strange buyers in isolated areas. If at all you
have to meet, meet in open areas such as restaurants, conference rooms not bars
and smoky pubs.
Tactic Two: Fake MPESA transactions
This one is borrowed from my personal experience. Be
warned, whenever the buyer borrows your phone to make a call, note that at your
back he is implementing his con strategy.
On 1st March 2014, I arranged a transaction with a certain guy (James Ojuang as he called himself) who was interested in purchasing my video camera which I had posted on OLX 2 days earlier.
On 1st March 2014, I arranged a transaction with a certain guy (James Ojuang as he called himself) who was interested in purchasing my video camera which I had posted on OLX 2 days earlier.
That fateful morning, we met and claimed that he was to send me
my cash; an equivalent of Ksh50, 225 on my phone. I received the MPESA text which
added up with the amount I had in my MPESA account to a total of Ksh50, 228 and
gave him the video camera.
At around 2pm, I went to the Safaricom Customer care near the Nation media center to withdraw my cash.
At around 2pm, I went to the Safaricom Customer care near the Nation media center to withdraw my cash.
I was shocked to find out
that I had not received any money in my account. I could not believe the
message and tried to withdraw again and again but could only receive a message
saying that I had insufficient funds.
Out of curiosity, I followed up to know what happened. The wonderful attendant at the customer care desk requested me to give her my phone so that she could go through it.
Out of curiosity, I followed up to know what happened. The wonderful attendant at the customer care desk requested me to give her my phone so that she could go through it.
She went through my
contacts and found a number under the name MPESA that had been saved on my contacts list. I was
advised to take the case to Central Police station and later to Buru Buru
Police station.
It is here that I learned more of how people were being conned on OLX Kenya.
It is here that I learned more of how people were being conned on OLX Kenya.
Tactic Three: Bouncing cheques
Conmen have now gone digital, they are always 3 steps ahead of you. However, their 40 days have come to pass; I just hope so. As I shared my story with my friends in Campus, I also learned that I was not alone.
One of my friend’s brothers suffered the same fate. However, he was conned through a bouncing cheque.
The person introduced himself as James came to see
the laptop and claimed that he liked it. To prove he was a serious buyer, he
wrote a cheque of Ksh29, 000 and asked the guy to submit it to his bank.The young man did exactly that and his account immediately reflected the amount deposited. The following day, James came to pick his laptop as their arranged and took off with it. After 3 days, john went back to his back to withdraw his cash as it had now been processed.
He was shocked to find out that he had submitted a bouncing cheque. In addition to losing his laptop, he was also charged Ksh290 for submitting a bouncing cheque.
Tactic Four: Fake money
Many people are usually very excited after receiving a call
from a prospective buyer and are not keen on the transaction. Many people have
made reports of receiving fake money.Most of the people receiving the monies are those dealing with more than Ksh20, 000. As you are in a hurry to carry out the transaction, you have no time to go through the notes that you are being offered.
Beware that there are plenty of fake notes circulating in Nairobi. Whenever you receive cash, check the notes one by one sieving the fake from the original.
These are just some of the ways that people get coned in OLX.
Pass this information to your friends and loved ones. Keep Kenya safe. Do not
allow these con artists to feast on what they haven’t sweated for.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
George Kiburi is a fourth year BA (Economics & Mathematics) student at the UON. He holds a certificate in Management from KIM. He is a philanthropist, kind and cool person. You can interact with him on: Facebook and LinkedIn.His email address is kiburigeorge@yahoo.com.
