What happens when a well-oiled fraud machine meets a popular online shopping platform? For Myntra, one of India’s largest fashion e-commerce sites, the result was a staggering ₹1.1 crore loss. A gang operating out of Jaipur exploited the platform’s return and refund policies over several months this year, ordering bulk products, claiming fake complaints, and pocketing the money.
Police investigations revealed that the fraudsters, operating from Jaipur, used Myntra’s platform to place bulk orders for high-value branded items like shoes, apparel, handbags, cosmetics, watches, and jewellery. They selected either ‘online’ or ‘cash-on-delivery (COD)’ payment methods when placing these orders. Once the goods were delivered, the fraudsters would initiate refund requests, claiming issues like product shortages or mismatches in colour.
According to a TOI report, the Police noted that most of these fraudulent orders were delivered to addresses in Bengaluru. Reportedly, around 5,529 fraudulent orders were shipped to different locations across the city. Interestingly, the fraudsters often provided delivery addresses to small commercial establishments like tea stalls, tailor shops, and provision stores, making the scam harder to detect.
Further investigation revealed that the majority of these orders were placed from Jaipur, leading authorities to suspect a gang from Rajasthan was behind the fraud. The fraudsters cleverly manipulated Myntra’s refund policies, taking advantage of the company’s procedures for addressing product complaints.
Initially, Myntra wanted to file a complaint for the losses incurred from fraudulent deliveries across India. However, Bengaluru police directed the company to file complaints only for the fraud related to deliveries within the city, limiting the scope of the case.
As online shopping continues to grow in India, more consumers are turning to e-commerce platforms to take advantage of deals and convenience. McAfee’s Labs team reported a significant spike in online scams targeting festive shoppers, with cybercriminals leveraging phishing emails and malicious links to trick consumers. An analysis of over 800 unsolicited, festive-themed emails revealed that scam activity tends to peak on weekends, aligning with the heightened online shopping activity. This not only highlights the vulnerability of shoppers to fraud but also underscores the risks e-commerce platforms face.
