A photograph of an apparently rare antique accompanied by an unusually low price can lure unsuspecting buyers into online transactions. In Kerala, antique collectors are sounding the alarm as fraudsters use the growing online market to sell replicas, refurbished objects, or nothing at all.
Collectors point to a common trick that involves using genuine photographs and videos of rare items. Fraudsters steal images from reputable collectors and repost them on platforms they control, offering the objects at prices low enough to attract buyers. Once a buyer contacts the seller, an advance payment is requested in the name of booking the object, after which the seller often disappears. In some cases, the buyer receives a cheap or unrelated item.
The problem has been highlighted by several collectors. P. Radhakrishnan of Kuzhalmannam in Palakkad says the misuse of authentic images is the most common online scam. Badayakandy Basheer, a 70‑year‑old collector in Kozhikode, received only a fragment of an old carpet after paying for a full piece. R.K. Mohan of Kannur warns that bronze utensils and traditional objects require careful examination and consultation with expert collectors before purchase. He also notes that items that have undergone extensive repairs or have had original components replaced are often sold without proper disclosure.
Collectors complain that police have not given sufficient attention to the trickery, despite the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act of 1972 regulating the sale of antiquities. The police counter that the 2021 case involving Monson Mavunkal, who was accused of passing off purported historical artefacts as genuine, prompted vigilance that has since faded. They advise collectors to treat claims of rarity, age and provenance as claims to be verified rather than proof of authenticity.
