Fraud Story #100 - CA student lost Rs 89,000 buying books online

Although the customer service team helps you resolve the issue, you must call the team with extreme caution while doing so. It is because scammers have set up fake customer care numbers in order to take advantage of people. The only result of calling up these fake customer care numbers is that you will not get your issue resolved; rather, you will lose your money.

A scammer posts their telephone numbers online as customer care numbers for various companies and banks. These numbers appear on Google when you look for customer service numbers. A fraudster will answer and pretend to be a customer support executive when you call these numbers. You will be asked to provide the banking information in order to resolve the issue. When you provide this information, it will be used to withdraw money from your bank account.

CA student lost 89,000 by calling customer care.

Police in Odisha has arrested three cybercriminals from Jharkhand's Jamtara district after they ripped off Rs.89,900 from a man who ordered books for his chartered accountancy exam from a Raipur-based coaching institute.

When Vivek Agarwal, a resident of Kesinga town in Kalahandi district, called the fake customer care number listed on a fake Sky King Courier website to inquire about the delayed shipment of his books on May 31, he was scammed. Upon calling the number listed on the website, a man answered and connected him to someone identifying himself as the sky king courier’s customer care employee. In an attempt to assure him that his books would be delivered soon, he explained that there were some technical problems with the delivery. The fraudster sent Agarwal a complaint form to fill up in order to register his complaint. Then he sent Agarwal a link and instructed him to send Rs.5 a registration fee, once he'd filled out the complaint form. He was told it was a UPI payment link and asked to enter his UPI number and PIN. After clicking on the link Agarwal's mobile phone popped up a payment gateway, which was a phishing link created by the cybercriminals.

Agarwal trusted the process and entered sensitive information including UPI code and pin in the online form. During the same moment, he was engaged in small talk by the cybercriminals as a total of Rs. 89,000 was debited from his bank account in 11 installments. After Agarwal realized the fraud, he ceased using his bank account and reported it to the Kesinga police station.

In the course of the investigation, it was discovered that the funds were deposited into a few third-party bank accounts via Paytm. An examination of the evidence led to a reasonable suspicion that the crime was committed in Jamtara district.

In Kalahandi, police carried out a raid on Barmundi village in Jamtara and arrested the main accused, a 5th standard pass out, Mohhamed Sajjad Ansari. Several others were also arrested, including Abdul Ansari and Raees Ansari. In order to avoid any scrutiny, the gang routed the stolen money to several local banks with denominations below Rs.55,000.

Also Check: Fraud Story #79 - Fake FedEx customer service scam

How to avoid this kind of fraud?

1. Please do not provide personal information such as credit card numbers, CVV, OTPs, UPI PINs, and other sensitive information to anyone over the phone. You won't be contacted by banks or reputed companies requesting your personal information.

2. Please do not Google a company or bank's customer service number. To obtain the company's customer service numbers, check out their official website.

3. You should never click on unknown links sent to you via SMS or email.

4. Accepting or making advance payments is not recommended. Payments can be made and accepted using Vouch. It is a digital escrow service that releases your payment once your desired service is provided.

How does digital escrow work?

In digital escrow, a third-party account holds the money deposited by the buyer until the seller fulfills the terms of the contract. The escrow company supervises the transacting parties.

What is the role of Digital Escrow in preventing online fraud in India?

By securing the payment flows between buyers and sellers through the Vouch Digital Escrow service, smooth transfers of products and payments are assured. Customers can rest assured that they'll be fairly compensated quickly and that their orders will be delivered on time. Fraudsters who request to scan QR codes or get OTP codes or ask you to click on phishing links can be easily avoided by declining and requesting that the transaction be completed through Vouch.

Vouch Digital Escrow offers non-interest-bearing escrow accounts to all companies in India, and you are kept informed at every stage of the transaction. Payments, shipping, delivery, and fulfillment are all handled under the watchful guidance of Vouch's professionals, so deceit or fraud is impossible. Vouch's professionals will be able to answer all of your questions throughout the entire transaction process. With Vouch, business transactions are transparent, straightforward, and convenient.

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This is Fraud Story #100. Check back here for more fraud stories and scams that you can protect yourself from.

Safety is not just about protecting your credit or debit card number. It's about having control of your money till you've received the product or service you bought online!