Are You Aware About Hyper Local Search Engine Fraud? Lets us study it in detail in this post.
Karan, a project manager at a MNC, was trying hard to close a unicorn client for his company, after months of hard work he managed to strike the deal and a much deserved promotion. His colleagues and friends decided to throw away a surprise party for him on this big day, but they missed to order drinks. Karan swinged in as a ninja and googled their frequented restaurant number to call delivery of drinks and some of their favorite snacks.
The number shown on the search results was impersonated by a organized set of fraudsters. Unaware of this, Karan placed the order, but was asked to pay the bill online otherwise the delivery was not possible as per the restaurant’s policy. Karan quickly agreed to pay online and shared sensitive card information. His bill was around Rs 3500/- but bank sent a message of Rs 35000/- debit. Karan quickly called the number again but the person on the other side told him that it was done by mistake and the balance amount shall be refunded to the card. An hour of fun at the party, Karan realized that the delivery should have come by now and that’s when he decided to check with the restaurant, to his surprise another 2 transactions of Rs 40000/- and Rs 50000/- were debited to his card.
Karan tried calling the number, but it went unanswered multiple times. He tried to call the number from his colleagues number, the call got answered but would get disconnected the minute Karan came online. Guessing that something was wrong, Karan and his friends decided to go to the restaurant. They were shocked when the restaurant manager denied of taking any such order on the phone and told them that they have been scammed. The manager also told them that many such customer have been cheated and that they have filled a complaint with the Police authorities. Karan decided that he should lodge a complaint with the Police and on his way contacted his banker to block the transactions and prevent further loss.
Search engine is a important tool of the modern era, it makes ones life easy and convenient. Given this wide use, fraudsters find it easy to hunt their prey on the search engines. Most times search engines provide accurate information but in some cases like mentioned above, it is also a primary playground for fraudsters. Recently we have come across many such instances, especially between Andheri and Bandra region of Mumbai. In all the common reason was consumers blind trust on the search results and the belief that the vendor is nearby. In some cases, the victims were also lured by offering discounts if they pay online.
Mitigations:
1. Always source the contact number of your local vendors directly, the first time you visit.
2. Please spend sometime in reading the reviews written below such search results.
3. Install a Anti threat detecting application which alerts you incase the number has problematic or fraud reviews.
4. Try to pay cash on delivery of the vendor is unknown or sounding suspicious.
5. Do not share your debit or credit card details with anyone over the phone.
After taking precaution, if you still get trapped in such scenario, then first contact your bank and alert them of the facts of the fraud so that no other debits can be charged. Also dispute the transaction, provide a voice recording, if possible. You can also submit your claim for recovery of the money under insurance subject to the service providers terms and policy.
Cyber Criminals are creative and resourceful; however there is no shame in being deceived. Don’t be embarrassed to report a scam; by doing so you will make it more difficult for fraudsters to do it to someone else.
The next step is to file a Police Complaint, so that the authorities are made aware of such events taking place and the offenders can be booked. Once the complaint is filed, please leave a review on the same search engine for the number so that it can trigger a alert for some other users.
It’s your money, make sure you have control. Be FraudSMART – be informed, alert and secure.
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