There are a lot of sellers on Facebook and Instagram who create WhatsApp groups and post daily updates about products and win your trust. But once you order you get to know their true colors.
Reena Mayuresh Mukadam became a victim of such online fraud where she had to wait for 25 days to know that her order will never be delivered.
Whatsapp seller scam
One fine morning while scrolling through her news feed, Reena saw a seller inviting people to join her group where she updates about Kurtis daily. Reena joined the group and the quality of the products and the cheap rates mesmerized her and she proceeded to order one.
5% Extra GST if paid through Paytm
She contacted the seller on her personal WhatsApp and asked her about the details and the procedure for payment. The seller sent her the bank details and asked her to deposit the money. Reena asked for Paytm but the seller refused and said she would be charged 5% extra if she refused to pay through a bank transfer.
Reena was confused and decided to pay her accordingly. She deposited an amount of rupees 699 and sent the seller a screenshot and then waited for the details of the order patiently. Reena had ordered this Kurti for her customer and was answerable to them too.
After a few days, on getting the despatch details, Reena contacted the seller and to her surprise, the seller kept leaving her on seen. Reena was worried about her reputation as a reseller and therefore decided to message constantly till she got an answer.
A river of excuses
The seller kept making excuses every day. She even made an excuse that her father is hospitalized and has an operation pending. Reena kept herself from messaging the seller for a few days but she did not get any updates even after waiting for a week.
Frustrated, Reena messaged the seller again and this time she made an excuse that the Kurti is out of stock and that Reena should order something else worth the same cost.
She decided not to buy anything and requested a refund. The seller refused to initiate a refund.
Reena never got her money back. She decided to post about it on Facebook and warn people to not buy from such fraud sellers.
What to do?
Think twice before you order something online. And maybe thrice if that person you are ordering from is a Facebook or WhatsApp seller. Reena could have saved herself from that fraud if she had used Vouch for it. Refunds and returns are super easy when people use Vouch for online transactions.
This is Fraud Chronicle#20. Check back here for more fraud chronicles and frauds that you can protect yourself from.
Safety is not just about protecting your credit or debit card number. It's about getting paid for your hard work!
Note: This is a good-faith initiative to educate the world about how to avoid frauds like these. Do you have a fraud that you would like to report? Please write to us at letstalk@iamvouched.com
