Shreya's Story
Shreya runs a clothing e-commerce store. A fraudster named Sinnu contacted her about the availability and price of a dress. When Shreya asked him how he got her number, he responded via Instagram. She told him the price of the dress was Rs.1350/-. In order to make the payment, he requested Shreya's Google Pay number.
Following some conversation, he provided her with a screenshot of his Google Pay account, showing the transaction of Rs.5000. Shreya asked him why he had paid such a large amount for a dress that cost Rs.1350/-. She was told it was a mistake and he asked her to transfer the extra funds back. Shreya suspected that something wasn't right. After checking her account, she found no transfer of Rs.5000 had been made to her account. Her suspicions were confirmed after she checked the screenshot again. The screenshot was a scam attempt to con her. The screenshot showed 5000/- transferred to her account in a fake transaction.
In the end, Shreya didn't give him any money and talked about her experience on social media.
The following tips will help you protect your money against fraud.
1. Find out ways in which the buyer/seller can be verified - is contact information listed, have other people had a good experience?
2. When using the digital payments app, you will probably receive a spam warning. Do not ignore it. The warning would appear if you transact with someone who had been reported earlier.
3. Check their name against obtained identification information such as Aadhaar or some sort of personal information.
4. Using digital escrow platforms as a payment method is preferred. When you pay through an Escrow payment system over the internet, you are not sharing your information with strangers. One such platform for escrow is Vouch.
What is digital escrow?
Digital Escrow is the use of a third party account, during a transaction, which holds the money deposited by the buyer 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 transparent 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 promptly, 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 #56. 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 have had the opportunity to settle your transaction with the other party.
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Note: This is a good-faith initiative to educate the world about avoiding frauds like these. Do you have a fraud you would like to report? Please write to us at letstalk@iamvouched.com
