Customer data on e-commerce sites at risk

Hyderabad: Every time you shop on a popular e-commerce website, you are taking a major risk, if what the Cybercrime police here say based on recent cases is any indication.

The data you enter, right from your address to bank account or payment details for net banking, is being put at the risk of being stolen or given away to cyber crooks, they say.

Customer data, which is supposed to be confidential with e-Commerce sites and logistics companies, are allegedly being either sold to cyber fraudsters or being stolen by them. Using these details, customers are being trapped and cheated. Sitting far away in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, cyber fraudster gangs have been swindling over several lakhs from people.

Their modus operandi include tele-calling centres with tele-callers who speak the local language to lure people from various States including Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, while there were Kannada and Tamil speaking callers to dupe people in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu as well.

Senior officials from the Cyberabad Cybercrime Cell said fraudsters were now compiling databases including contact number, address, product details of customers of different popular e-commerce websites from employees and those working in logistics firms and then targeting customers.

“They buy the database from employees at the delivery hubs and contact customers with attractive offers. Customers believe them to be genuine, as they had purchased some product or the other from these online e-commerce companies,” said a senior official.

They fall into the trap and call fraudsters on the mobile phone numbers given in the post received by them to confirm winning gifts including cars and costly gadgets among others, the official added. The fraudsters, on receiving these calls, send fake ID cards of e-commerce companies on WhatsApp to convince the customer.

“Once any of the customers believed them, they would start extracting money under the pretext of registration fee, document charges, GST and Income Tax to claim gifts,” officials said.

Call centres are being setup across multiple States, with hundreds of fake bank accounts to receive money from victims. “They usually depute Telugu speaking tele-callers to dupe customers in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Likewise, they depute Kannada and Tamil speaking tele-callers to dupe customers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu,” an inspector from the Cybercrime Cell said.

Some of the tele-callers, with the help of local agents, arrange bank accounts from West Bengal, Ranchi and Bihar too and create fake Aadhaar cards, voter IDs and PAN cards and open bank accounts to hide their identity.

Following several cases of such fraud in recent times, the police have warned citizens, particularly customers of e-commerce sites, to be wary of cybercrimes on social media.

“No e-commerce company will send application letters or scratch cards and offer prizes, money or gifts. No company sends bulk SMSes to customers either. It is advised not to respond to any posts or messages that offer gifts or scratch cards,” the police said.