Online sales taking advantage of the holiday rush have been marred by misleading advertising, fake offers and phishing scams. These malicious campaigns offer consumers incredibly deep discounts, such as selling high-end Apple iPhones for as low as Rs 99.
Several groups on WhatsApp and Telegram promote these too-good-to-be-true deals, leading unsuspecting users through a maze of groups and channels that ultimately lead to fraud or disappointment.
These fake websites clone the entire interface of popular e-commerce platforms and offer product discounts that are often lower than those offered by legitimate sellers. Collect payments via credit card, debit card and UPI enabled QR code.
Some of these sites have cloned Flipkart’s interface with near-perfect accuracy, making it difficult for users to spot any differences.
India Today has uncovered dozens of websites imitating popular e-commerce site Flipkart, which hosts its much-anticipated sales event.
Websites such as Flipkart-festive-fusion[.]xyz and Flipkart sale goes live today[.]xyz impersonates Flipkart’s logo and interface, tricking users into believing they are genuine.
According to Google’s Transparency Report, Chrome’s built-in security check marks these sites as “not safe for browsing” and classifies them as “phishing sites” that pretend to be legitimate platforms to deceive users. Some websites try to trick visitors into sharing personal information or downloading malware.
Even normally secure websites can sometimes be compromised by attackers. Google advises users to report any suspected bugs if they believe the site does not pose a risk.
real world harm
While some sites engage in false sales, others appear to focus on collecting user data by prompting visitors to register using their contact details, address and other personally identifiable information (PII).
The emails, phone numbers, addresses and banking details extracted by these fraudulent campaigns can be used to facilitate future cybercrime.
In the future, the criminals behind these fake websites could use the information collected to contact targets via phone calls, text messages or instant messaging services, or via scam emails tailored to the user’s vulnerabilities. The more information a fraudster has, the greater the potential harm.
Complaints against e-commerce websites
At the same time, there are also complaints about misleading sales practices on genuine e-commerce platforms, such as advertising products at extremely low prices, but then raising prices or adding hidden fees at checkout.
The Union Consumer Affairs Ministry has received several such complaints.
“We have received numerous complaints about e-commerce companies making unbelievable claims. Consumers are experiencing unexpected shipping charges or noticing discounts suddenly disappearing when placing an order. We are actively monitoring these complaints and will take strict action Action,” Minister Nidhi Khare told India Today.
