Hyderabad: Karthik is an MNC employee. While scrolling through Facebook, he came across an advertisement of a branded power bank along with Bluetooth headset, both for the price of Rs.899. He hastily clicked on the link and logged in to the website. He paid the entire amount through Google Pay and his order was delivered within 3 days. Both the products stopped working within a week. Upon careful examination, he realized that the power bank is a duplication of a famous brand.
Harish is a software engineer. He saw an advertisement of a famous brand and immediately placed the order. He paid money online. After receiving the parcel, he realized that he got a different product altogether. He did not recognize the difference between the names of original and fake brands online.
A private employee saw photos of clothes and fashion accessories being sold at cheaper prices in Instagram. She logged into the said website and placed an order for 4 Kurtis. She paid Rs.2,000 online. She decided to contact the company through calls and emails as she did not receive the items but could not get through them. When she searched on Google, she found out that it is a fraudulent company.
Hundreds of people in Hyderabad had similar experiences. They have complained on Consumer Forum that several companies have collected money and then shut up shop. Some of them have lost thousands of rupees. None of them have reported these incidents to Cyber Crime Police as the lost amounts are not too high. Cyber-crimes are on the rise owing to unrestricted usage of social media and the internet. Fraudsters are duplicating famous brands and luring consumers into the trap. People are falling into the trap seeing branded items for reduced prices. Since everyone is using digital payment apps these days, the fraudulent companies are disappearing without a trace once they receive the money.
Young people from various places and backgrounds come to Hyderabad for education and employment purposes. They are very active on social media and search for different products at better prices online. They place orders without giving the advertisements a thought once they find a cheaper product. Cybercriminals are taking advantage of this weakness.
Experts claim that the majority of offers shown online are fraudulent. Criminals could be traced only when victims complain about such instances to the Cyber Crime Department, but even then, only 10% of their money could be recovered in most cases. Mr. Harinath, ACP of Cyber Crime has urged people to call and report any such instances to the police on 100 or 040-27852412.
There are many options for shopping in the city. With a little exploration, one can get many items for cheaper prices in shops. The mentality of expecting everything at our doorstep is the base for these cyber-crimes. Unless it is necessary, online shopping must be limited. Before ordering something online, it is important to check the site’s contact info and reviews and validate its authenticity. It is better to choose Cash on Delivery option if you find any website suspicious. If an offer seems too good to be true, it probably is!
