Recently, the cyber police have uncovered a massive fraud scheme involving leading e-commerce company Meesho losing over Rs 5 crore to a group of fake sellers.
What actually happened?
This elaborate scam involved the culprits posing as a fake seller under the guise of a company named 'OM Shree Enterprises in Surat. They strategically placed orders using bogus customer accounts with fake names and addresses on the Meesho platform, only to later claim refunds by alleging that they received damaged products.
The fraudsters went to great lengths to make their scheme appear legitimate. They would order products daily, averaging between 2000 to 2500 orders, and once the items were delivered, they would promptly return them to the e-commerce company using fake addresses.
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Further, to establish claims, they replaced the original products with damaged alternatives and submitted videos as evidence of the purported damage.
This meticulous process allowed the scammers to amass a staggering amount of Rs 5.5 crore in various bank accounts within the span of just seven months, from January to July of this year.
The nodal officer at Meesho became suspicious of the unusually high number of refund requests and promptly alerted the cyber police.
A case was registered, and a dedicated team was established to investigate the matter further.
The cyber police diligently traced the trail of illicit funds and identified the bank accounts used by the suspects for their money transfers. On November 21, three individuals were apprehended in Surat in connection with the fraudulent activities.
During interrogation, the culprits confessed to their crimes and divulged information about their accomplices, whose whereabouts are currently being pursued by law enforcement.
Later police also found the group had engaged in a similar scam back in 2023.
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