New Delhi: As Diwali and Black Friday sales push India’s online shopping bill past ₹1.5 lakh crore, cyber crooks are having a field day.
Delhi Police alone logged 1,847 e-shopping complaints in the last 30 days – a staggering 300% surge from last year – with victims losing over ₹180 crore to fake websites, bogus OTPs and parcel scams.
The modus operandi is chillingly simple: fraudsters create mirror websites for Flipkart, Amazon, and Myntra with URLs differing by just one letter (flipkart-offers.in, amazondeals2025.co). Unsuspecting buyers chasing “90% off” iPhones or ₹999 laptops share OTPs and land on payment gateways that syphon bank details in seconds.
In another rampant trick, callers posing as courier boys claim, “Your parcel is stuck at customs; pay ₹5,000 duty,” and vanish after UPI transfers.
Cyber experts warn that small-town and Tier-2 shoppers are the biggest victims. According to Delhi Cyber Cell SP Hemant Tiwari, people tend to be deceived by seemingly attractive prices.
Here’s your survival checklist:
Never click links from SMS/WhatsApp – type the website URL yourself.
Check for “https://” and a padlock icon before payment.
Use virtual keyboards on public Wi-Fi.
Enable two-factor authentication everywhere.
Report fraud immediately by calling 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in, as this allows for the freezing of funds during prime time.
With Christmas and New Year sales loading, police urge: if it looks unreal, it probably is. Invest wisely, or bear the consequences – literally.