Fraud Story #65 - A 30,000 rupee online fraud!

Online shopping has made it easier for people to purchase almost anything. A broad array of products can be purchased online, including clothes, footwear, cosmetics, books, grocery, medicines, furniture, and so forth. It is convenient for people to shop online, plus they save time and money with it. Nevertheless, shopping online is not always safe since there are many risks involved.

30,000 rupee fraud

Several months ago, a Delhi resident was looking to purchase furniture online for his office. While he was surfing through different websites he found a seller who introduced himself as a retired army person. He offered a lower price for the furniture than other vendors to win the businessman's confidence. The victim was asked to make the payment, as soon as possible.

In the need of some furniture and getting it at such a low price, the victim agreed to immediately make the payment. The fraudster sent the victim a text message containing a payment link. When the victim clicked on the link to complete the payment, he was prompted to provide his bank information. Immediately upon filling in his information, the fraudster gained access to his bank account and Rs.30000/- was deducted.

The following tips will help you protect your money against fraud.

In no case do government agencies, banks, or other financial institutions request financial information via SMS? In the case of UPI fraud, you should contact your bank or eWallet company and request the wallet be blocked to prevent further losses.
Police or the cybercrime cell can even be contacted about the incident.
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.
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.

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This is Fraud Story #64. 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!