KOCHI: Atul Varma, a resident of Tripunithura, ordered a second-hand jersey of a football team through a website and paid Rs 1,200 online. Even after waiting for over two months, the jersey had not been delivered.
This is not an isolated case. Kerala Police on Monday issued an alert through Facebook about the increasing number of cases in which consumers have been cheated after ordering goods online. “Frequent cheating incidents through websites selling used goods have come to the notice. Not just buyers, even sellers were cheated in several incidents. Several such cases were registered recently. The fraudsters post ads promising to provide branded products at cheap prices. Some ask the consumer to pay an amount as the courier charge, but they do not deliver the product,” a message by Kerala Police said.
When a consumer contacts the seller after seeing the advertisement, the latter provides photographs of his Aadhar card and PAN card through WhatsApp to win the trust. “Most cases are related to the purchase of second-hand mobile phones and vehicles through websites. The fraudsters post fake photographs of products. Only when products are not delivered would the buyers come to know that they have been cheated. By the time, the WhatsApp number will be unreachable,” the police message said.
The police have asked the public to ensure the true identity of the seller and buyer while they ask to show the product intended to be sold or bought. “We have also registered robbery cases when fraudsters promising to show the product invited the buyer to isolated places. Once the buyer reaches the location, they rob the money and ornaments. Similarly, there was also an incident when the seller was robbed by the buyer. Online money transaction or product delivery should be done only after ensuring the identity or the seller and buyer,” Kerala Police message posted on social media networks stated.
A Cyber Cell officer said several complaints of online cheating have been reported from Kochi in recent months.