Udupi man duped of Rs 4.35 lakh in online car sale fraud

Udupi man duped of Rs 4.35 lakh in online car sale fraud

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Oct 27, 2026: A 48-year-old man from Belman village in Karkala taluk has allegedly lost ₹4.35 lakh to an unidentified person who promised to sell him an electric car advertised on Facebook.

According to a complaint filed by Balakrishna Rao, the incident began on August 20, 2026, when he came across a Facebook advertisement for an electric car. Interested in purchasing the vehicle, he shared his mobile number with the advertiser.

He subsequently received a call from a person who identified himself as Ravichandra, a doctor residing in Chikkamagaluru district. The caller offered to sell the car for ₹4.5 lakh and shared a location with Rao.

Trusting the caller, Rao transferred ₹45,000 through UPI on August 20. The following day, he transferred ₹3 lakh through RTGS to a bank account provided by the accused and made another UPI payment of ₹45,000. On August 22, he transferred an additional ₹45,000.

After making the payments, Rao travelled to Mathikere in Chikkamagaluru, as instructed by the caller, to collect the vehicle. However, the person was not present at the location.

When Rao contacted him, the caller allegedly claimed that he was in Virajpet and that the car had broken down because its battery had run out of charge. He reportedly promised to get the vehicle repaired at a showroom within a week and arrange for its delivery through a driver.

However, the car was never delivered, and the money was not refunded. Rao alleged that the accused had cheated him of ₹4.35 lakh under the pretext of selling the vehicle.

Based on the complaint, Karkala Rural Police have registered a case under Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act and Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).