Improved technology and busy lifestyle have made us depend on the Internet for everything. Whether it is buying items, booking tickets or paying utility bills, many people prefer doing it online. When it comes to online shopping, many people find it convenient as it offers huge discounts. Online shopping allows you buy a wide variety of products from the comfort of home.
It helps save money through offers, discounts, and cashbacks. While online shopping is gaining popularity each day, online shopping frauds are on the rise. Each day we get to hear on at least one online shopping fraud.
In this blog, we will talk about the real-life story where a professor from Mumbai fell victim to online fraud and lost Rs 24,000 while ordering wine worth Rs 400.
A Biochemistry professor from Mumbai wanted to buy a special wine. But, like everybody these days, he was also busy with work. So he thought of buying it online and told his department's office boy to order the wine online. The office boy Googled the nearest wine shop and collected the number of Baba Wine Shop. He called up that number and ordered port wine of Rs 420.
The person on call asked the office boy to make the payment online, so that the wine bottle could be sent. The boy collected the professor's credit card and gave the card number, CVV and expiry date to the shopkeeper who was speaking on the call. Not just that he also shared the One Time Password (OTP) which was sent to the professor’s phone.
As soon as the office boy shared all these details, the shopkeeper cut the call saying that the transaction had failed. The boy called the wine shop again. He was again asked to share the OTP sent to the professor's phone. This happened for the next one hour. By the time the professor checked his mobile, 6 transactions had taken place with his card for Rs 420, Rs 4,420, Rs 4,420, Rs 4,420, Rs 5,000 and Rs 5,000.
After the professor got to know that Rs 24,000 was fraudulently debited from his account, he approached the police and filed a complaint. Police are tracing the culprits.
The police have been receiving many complaints from wine shop owners saying that fraudsters have replaced the contact details of wine shops online. This is a Google search fraud where fraudsters misuse the edit option provided by Google. Google allows anyone to edit the details of banks, shops or any other establishments on Google Maps and Google Search. This option is available to enhance the services, but Criminals are misusing this to make quick money. Under this fraud, fraudsters replace the original contact details with their number.
Read More - Online Shopping Fraud
1. Never share your card details and OTP with anyone over the phone. No establishment will ask for your personal banking details.
2. Don’t simply rely on the phone number that comes up in the first search on Google. Instead, visit the official website for contact details.
