You've won the lottery!
After the phone rings and you pick it up, you're informed that you just won a million dollars before you even have time to think about it.
It turns out you have never entered any contests, but who cares, I mean imagine what you could buy if you won.
DON'T GO ANY FURTHER!
Be careful not to fall prey to the "Lucky Winner" scam just yet. You just admitted to yourself: "I don't remember entering any contests." A huge red flag right there.

The lucky-draw scam
The resident of Rakhial has accused three men of duping him that 3.13 lakh by luring him into a lucky draw scheme. Among the accused were Vijay Makwana, Magan Parmar, and Jitu Gohil, all residents of Amraiwadi, according to a complaint filed by Jyotsana Solanki, 48, to the police on Friday.
The alleged amount per membership was Rs 1,250 and 36 installments were payable. Two-wheelers or ornaments were promised to her. As a result of investing Rs 3,13 lakh with her friends, she and her friends ended up being cheated. According to her, neither the vehicle nor the ornaments were given to her by the three men. She wasn't given the money back either.
Here are a few tips for staying safe on online marketplaces
- Make sure you place your order over a secure connection
- Verify the person's presence and reputation
- Avoid offers that seem too good to be true
- Please do not deal with people who ask for personal information, money in advance, or bank details
- Avoid accepting or making advance payment. Accept only if the payment is made through digital escrow like Vouch.
- Fraudsters use fake identification to gain trust. Keep a check on such attempts.
Digital Payment - Faster yet unsafe!
After the widespread adoption of digital payments in recent years, countries like India have become increasingly adept at digital payments. There has been a substantial increase in citizens using cashless transactions in India's suburbs and hinterlands, including through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Internet Banking, and other means. India is poised to experience a 78 percent increase in digital payments in the coming months, according to reports
How does Digital Escrow save you from online frauds?

This is Fraud Story #52. 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 received the product or service you bought online!
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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