Bengaluru: E-Commerce giant Flipkart is in trouble once more. This time, it's their turn to approach the police, alleging that they have lost Rs 1.56 crore to proxy customers.
In their complaint to the Cyber crime police, the company stated that a group of conmen posing as customers would order expensive goods, only to fill the boxes with soil and stones to demand a refund.
According to police, the fraud came to light after the e-commerce portal team observed a sudden surge in complaints. They began examining customer details and learned that they were in with a group of cheats out to make some money.
The gang was allegedly stealing documents through the internet and using them to open bank accounts. Through these, they would obtain SIM cards and use those to place orders, paid for through internet banking. The goods ranged from cameras and mobile phones to watches, all expensive goods that can be carried easily.
The probe revealed that the wrong address was provided. When the delivery called them to deliver the item, the members would collect them midway, claiming the address was incorrect. Upon receiving the goods, they would take out the item and re-fill the packaging with stones and soil. A police officer said, 'The next day, they would call customer care and complain that they had received a box containing stones and soil, alleging they have been cheated. They would threaten to sue them and upload the photographs on social media." Believing it to be a genuine case, the company, instead of investigating complaints, simply refunded the amounts to their bank accounts.
Police said that over 2,000 goods were ordered using the same modus operandi and suspect that more men are involved in the crime. The probe team collected the mobile numbers and bank account details to which the money was refunded and found that they have used fabricated documents to open bank accounts and obtain SIM cards.
