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1/ I have always been fascinated by online scams, when I get these calls, I don't miss the opportunity to learn about the latest tactics and in the process troll them. Someone just tried to pull off an elaborate scam on me right now. Read on if you're interested.
2/ @PayTM @vijayshekhar @AmazonIN please take note. I just got a call from "Amazon India" (+918584073867) telling me that I have been a loyal customer of Amazon & I have just won an award!
3/ I can choose from an iPhone X, a Dell Laptop, a TV etc. They also helpfully confirmed my name, phone number & my address. 🙄 They kept on repeating the information, trying to confuse me and make me feel giddy about the "reward".
4/ OK, I asked what do I have to do to get it? Because there's always something that you HAVE to do to get a prize like that, no matter what they say!
5/ "Oh, it's just a simple thing Sir, because of Govt. of India rules, we can't give you the prize right away, you'll have to purchase something worth INR 5000 from @AmazonIN. And worry not, out of that INR 3000 will be given back to you as cashback!" Superb!
6/ So what should I buy? "You can buy any product, as long as it's worth INR 5000 or more. Pick the product on Amazon app and tell us the name and price, we will verify from our end." Sure, I pick the first thing I could find on the app.
7/ It's a kid's bike costing INR 5600. I tell them the name and price, they verify the product "from their end". Now all is well, can I just buy the product on Amazon?
8/ "No Sir, today I will be your purchase manager 😲 You will have to complete the transaction through me so that we can attach this buy with the reward. I will give you the payment details and you can transfer the payment to us." Uh oh, OK.
9/ So I will have to give YOU the money. Sure, makes sense. Please give me your account details and I will NEFT the money to you. "Oh no Sir. We need you to use a Wallet.
10/ Do you use @npci_bhim, @googlepayindia, @PayTM, etc.?" Now's the time to be a bit technically challenged. I tell them that I do have the Bhim app but it's not working currently. Some 3G problem.
11/ "OK Sir, do you have SBI Online account?" I tell them that I use Axis Bank (which is relatively uncommon). A lot of head-scratching ensues. "Sir, you will have to use an app for the transfer, as NEFT will take a lot of time.
12/ Can you open your Axis Bank App and do the transfer? Tell us what you see and we will give you the information." My goal here is to get as much banking information from them as possible so that their account can be frozen.
13/ I tell them that the app is asking for Account Holder's Name, IFSC, Branch Name. Well, they don't really know how the Axis Bank app looks like so they give me the info without much questioning. Now comes the wait, for the transaction to be completed.
14/ They tell me, "Sir, please click on the button to confirm the transaction and we're checking from our side." I could sense them fervently waiting for the cash to hit their account, but that never happens.
15/ Everything is stuck on "Transaction in progress" stage, because hell, I don't even use Axis Bank. I was bluffing all along. 😎 By that time, the call had already been stretched to 40 mins and I could feel they were getting a bit impatient.
16/ I was impatient too, so I ask the caller, "So how much money do you make everyday like this?". Well, that was the end of it. They hung up immediately.
17/ So readers, here's all the details: Account Name: Amazon In 😲 Account Number: 919612XXXXXX IFSC: PYTM0123456 Branch: Noida @PayTM @vijayshekhar You must get to the bottom of this. Happy to share complete info.
18/ This is an elaborate scam that's being conducted at the intersection of Amazon, PayTM, UPI, delivery networks. I was shocked to know that they already had my home address.
19/ Also, the fact that they could complete the scam without asking ME for any sensitive information. It's crazy to imagine how many unsuspecting people might have fallen prey already. How to protect yourself from such scams?
20/ 1. Know that companies like Amazon will never call you to give you an expensive reward. They're an ONLINE service, so it's in their interest to do the marketing from WITHIN the app/website.
21/ 2. Do not give in to any request to perform an out-of-band transaction, ie. buy a product from Amazon but by sending money through a 3rd party payment system. It's in Amazon's interest to get the transaction completed through their systems.
22/ 3. Ask for them to send you an email from their official address. Those are much harder to forge reliably. 4. These scams are successful only because people are generally greedy. Just don't be greedy.
23/ I love the ingenuity of these scams, they teach you a lot about loopholes in our systems. I am growing sceptical about getting deliveries done to my home address. May be time to get a PO Box? What else could we do to protect ourselves from such scams?
24/ Also, it seems India has moved on from Credit Card scams. UPI, e-Wallets are good enough now. Yay, #DigitalIndia
