With fake discounts and attractive deals, lesser known e-commerce portals and social media pages are active again to lure unsuspecting customers and cheat them by delivering cheap products, mainly garments and electronic gadgets.
The operators of such portals do not attempt to steal bank account details or passwords, but they fool customers without delivering the ordered products or delivering cheap products. Customers come to know of the fraud only when they open the package sent by post or courier.
“There are many women who get cheated by operators of such e-commerce websites and social media pages. As the product lists highlight trendy garments at affordable rates with unbeatable offers, there are many who try it at least once,” says a homemaker who fell victim to such a fraud recently. She says the contact numbers and e-mail addresses of the trader also turned out to be fake.
There are also incidents in which customers never receive the products for which they have made online payment. Only very few customers have approached the police or consumer cells to expose such fake e-commerce deals. In case of cash-on-delivery options, often cheap or refurbished products are delivered.
Thoughtless sharing of social media links with such offers also traps many who place orders without verifying the credentials of the suppliers.
According to police sources, not many formal complaints are filed as people usually spend only small amounts for purchase on such websites. Such incidents mostly come to light through social media posts by cheated customers, they say.
Meanwhile, efforts are on to identify fraudulent e-commerce pages and websites with intensified social media patrol by the hi-tech cell of the Kerala Police. Those cheated by such online transactions may contact the helpline 155260 to register complaints.
