Fake Customer Care Helpline Costs Bengaluru Woman Rs 1.05 Lakh Over Rs 441 Cloth Refund

A Rs 441 refund request spiralled into a massive cyber fraud for a 49-year-old woman in Bengaluru, who lost a staggering Rs 1.05 lakh from two bank accounts after falling prey to a fake e-commerce customer care number. The homemaker was allegedly tricked into sharing sensitive details while trying to recover money for clothes she had returned.

Prema (name changed), a resident of Horamavu, told police that she had purchased clothes through an e-commerce platform but decided to return them as they did not fit. She subsequently requested a refund of Rs 441, which remained pending for several weeks.

Frustrated by the delay, Prema searched online for the company's customer care number on October 31. She came across the number 8893978138, which was falsely listed as the company's helpline, and contacted it. The person who answered identified himself as Tushar Singh.

The caller allegedly walked her through a series of steps to initiate the refund, eventually asking her to click on a link and enter certain details.

As the process dragged on, Prema's phone screen suddenly went blank, displaying a message asking her to wait for the refund. Sensing that something was amiss, she immediately switched off her phone and removed the SIM card in an attempt to prevent further damage.

When she switched her phone back on, she discovered that Rs 90,000 had been siphoned off from one bank account and another Rs 15,000 from a second account.

According to her complaint, the unauthorised transactions took place within a three-minute window, between 11.14 am and 11.17 am on October 31. She alleged that Tushar Singh had stolen the money through a digital payment application.

Damaged curd packet leads to Rs 98,000 cyber fraud 

In another similar incident reported in October, a 56-year-old homemaker was allegedly cheated of Rs 98,000 after attempting to claim a refund for a damaged curd packet ordered through Blinkit.

The woman, identified as Soundarya (name changed), lived in an apartment on Palace Cross Road in Vasanth Nagar. According to her complaint, she had placed an order for a packet of curd on October 17. However, when the delivery arrived, she found the packet damaged and raised the issue with the delivery agent, who advised her to contact customer care.

While searching online for the company's customer care number, she allegedly landed on a fraudulent contact and ended up speaking to cybercriminals posing as customer care representatives.

The fraudsters reportedly sent her a link on WhatsApp and persuaded her to follow the instructions, eventually duping her of Rs 98,000.