25 February,2026 07:57 AM IST | Mumbai | Aishwarya Iyer
The fraud came to light when the OLX seller said he never received the payment due. Representation pic/istock
A Fraudster posing as âDr Manish' from Sir JJ Hospital pulled off a classic three-party middleman scam, cheating a Dadar-based mobile shop owner of Rs 95,000.
The accused first contacted an OLX seller, Siddharth, who had listed an iPhone 17 Pro for sale. Almost simultaneously, he called the shop owner and offered to sell the iPhone for Rs 95,000 - well below its market price of around Rs 1.3 lakh - promising to later purchase a Samsung Fold 7 from the shop. Tempted by the offer and future business promise, the shop owner agreed.
To make the deal appear genuine, the fraudster claimed the iPhone was with his "brother" in Dadar East, and instructed the shop owner to collect it from him and transfer the payment. The "brother" was, actually, Siddharth - neither party knew the other. Acting on these instructions, he collected the phone and transferred the amount to a QR code.
The fraud came to light when Siddharth said he never received the money. By then, the caller had vanished. Police said this is classic three-party middleman fraud. "By posing as a doctor, he gained trust, prevented discussion about payment, and diverted the amount through a QR code," an officer told mid-day.
Fraud type: Three-party middleman scam
Amount: Rs 95,000
Platform used: OLX
Age: 45
Residence: Bhayandar
Business: Telecom shop, Bhavani Shankar Road, Dadar West
Name: Siddharth
Location: Parsi Colony, Dadar East
>> The accused contacted two unrelated parties separately
>> Posed as a JJ Hospital doctor to gain trust
>> Shared his own QR code to divert payment
>> Disappeared after transfer
Feb 22: Calls made to seller and shop owner
Feb 23: Phone collected; R95,000 transferred
Dadar police have registered a cheating case under BNS Section 318(4) and are tracing the mobile numbers used in the fraud
