When it comes to fashion, Indians are found to widely follow celebrities and trying out their every possible look. As people are staying mostly at home for more than a year now, they have adopted online shopping and it has become a trend to stay fashionable even if being at home. What happens when the scammers take advantage of such individuals who will not stop buying anything if it is endorsed or worn by a celebrity. With increasing online stores on Facebook and Instagram, trust between the seller and buyer is gradually decreasing due to several online frauds happening every day.


Marketing Gimmick by Instagram Saree Seller

This is the story of Shivani, who fell into the trap of "Ashas Women Collection" on Instagram. According to her, the page has 42k followers and has been posting about their celebrity customers, who are mostly Indian television artists. As she thought it's a reputed page, she decided to buy two sarees from them. She paid INR 3100 in advance for her order. Fortunately, she received one of the saree, but it was completely different than she saw in the photo on Instagram. Shivani immediately called her but the seller didn't pick up. After texting her several times, she replied to send her an unboxing video. Shivani sent it but the seller refused to provide the refund instead, she asked to exchange. When Shivani complained about the quality of the saree she has received, the seller becomes furious and behaved badly with her. After threatening the seller several times, she didn't get a refund. Shivani had no choice other than to share her experience on social media.

How to stay safe from fake sellers on social media?

1. Having a lot of followers is not everything. Check the comment section carefully before buying from any social media pages. You will find a lot of customer reviews there.

2. If you are not sure about the quality of the product as seen in the photos, ask for a video of the product before buying.

3. Use Vouch to make sure, in case of any delivery issues or frauds, your payment remains secured.

4. Always make an unboxing video as soon as the delivery is done.

What is digital escrow?

Digital Escrow is the use of a third party account, during a transaction, which holds the money deposited by the person who is purchasing any product/service until the seller fulfills the terms of the agreement. The transacting parties are supervised by the escrow company.

How does Digital Escrow save you from online frauds in India?

Vouch’s Digital Escrow service is a transparent way for buyers and sellers to build trust and secure a clean transfer of product and payment. Buyers can feel assured that they will be fairly compensated in a timely manner, and buyers will feel confident that their order will be delivered as expected and on schedule. If you ever come across a fraudster asking for OTP, asking you to scan a QR code, or asking you to click on phishing links, you can simply say no and ask him/her to proceed with the transaction through Vouch. 

Vouch Digital Escrow uses a non-interest-bearing escrow account for all transactions in India and keeps you updated and informed at every step of the transaction process till the end. Vouch’s professionals are always available to assist you with all queries that you may have during the entire transaction process. There is no scope for deceit or fraud since the payments, shipping, delivery, and execution are carried out under the honest and watchful eyes of the Vouch’s professionals. With Vouch, any business transaction becomes transparent, uncomplicated, and hassle-free.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This is Fraud Story #43. Check back here for more fraud chronicles 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 delivered the product or service you contracted to!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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