Online shopping scams are increasing each day. Under the online shopping scams, fraudsters pretend to be genuine online sellers, either with a fake website or a fake ad on a genuine retailer site. In India, there are many fake online stores which cheat customers. People are losing Lakhs of rupees to these online shopping frauds, due to a lack of knowledge in identifying a fake website. In this blog, we will show you the real-life example of a person, who was cheated by fake online shopping sites.
A few months back, a person from New Delhi had received a call from an online shopping portal. The company executive told him that if he purchased any product from their website, he would have a chance of winning an attractive prize. In the hope of winning the prize, he bought a wallet worth Rs 599 and paid money through Paytm.
Three days after he ordered the wallet, he received a call from the same company, saying that he had won an iPhone in a lucky dip. He was very happy to hear the news. But, the company told him that he had to pay GST worth Rs 6,400 to receive the prize. He trusted them and paid Rs 6,400 via Paytm.
After some days they again called him and said that the iPhone which he was supposed to receive, has been damaged by the courier company and compensation of Rs 1,05,000 would be paid by the company for the same. The victim agreed to take Rs 1,05,000 from the company. But, again he was asked to pay GST of Rs 15,750.
The victim got irritated and refused to pay the money, as he was being asked to pay again and again. But, they kept calling him and said according to the company rules he would not be paid any compensation, if he does not pay the GST. Finally, somehow he arranged the amount and paid the fraudsters. Still, he did not receive any calls after paying the money. He tried calling them, but all their numbers were switched off. Later he got to know that he was duped.
1. Do not trust discounts that are too good to be true. If the company is providing too many offers, you must do proper research before paying the money. If you have any lingering doubts regarding the company, do not make the purchase.
2. Make sure all necessary details of the company such as address, email and helpline number, are available on the website.
3. Opt for cash on delivery if you are making the purchase from an e-commerce company for the first time.
4. You must check the reviews of the company before purchasing the product. If the website has many bad reviews, it is the biggest sign that the website is a fake.
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