Fraudsters take to e-com platforms to dupe public

The next time you visit an e-commerce website, be cautious about fake advertisements of products you may come across.
Image used for representational purpose only
Image used for representational purpose only

VIJAYAWADA: The next time you visit an e-commerce website, be cautious about fake advertisements of products you may come across. With more buyers becoming aware of online bank frauds, cybercriminals are leaving no chance to find alternative ways to dupe the public. One of the latest tools they have adopted is the platform provided by websites where individuals can place classified ads to sell and buy products.  

The case of a city-based professional, Sushma (name changed), is a perfect example that explains how fraudsters are exploring different ways to cheat. Sushma, who recently moved to the city and is residing in a rented apartment under Penamaluru police station limits, decided to buy a used car. 
So, she opened an account with one such website and an advertisement posted by one Kumar caught her attention. The seller claimed that he wanted to sell his car. 

She immediately contacted him and asked him to send pictures and documents of the vehicle.
The fraudster, however, sent her morphed images of the car’s registration certificate through WhatsApp and asked her to pay a token amount to confirm the booking. Penamalur police said: “She, believing that Kumar was a genuine seller, deposited `25,000 in his account. After a week, she deposited another `30,000 after the fraudster promised that the car would be delivered at her doorstep. In total, she paid him `2.8 lakh, but the car was not delivered as was promised. After realising that she was cheated, she approached the police and lodged a complaint against him.”

Based on the information received from the complainant, the police formed a special team and found out that the seller was a resident of Mumbai. “With the help of mobile number and details of his bank account, we traced him to Mumbai and arrested him. We also wrote a letter to the bank concerned to refund the amount that was deposited in Kumar’s account to Sushma,” investigation officer K Damodhar said.
Explaining the modus operandi of such crimes, he said the fraudsters took random pictures of vehicles that do not belong to them and collected details such as its owner’s name and others using vehicle registration portals. 

“They will create the account in the name of car/bike owner and collect money from buyers. Once they receive the amount, they remove the ad and switch off their mobile phones,” Damodhar explained.
Sushma’s is not an isolated case. Two more such cases were registered in Penamaluru police station. However, many similar instances go unreported.

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The New Indian Express
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