Bengaluru, 28 Sept

Smitha Rai (name changed), a native of Dakshina Kannada district, was thrilled when she stumbled upon a Bengaluru-based clothing store on Instagram. The store, called Riya Fashions, had over 15,000 followers and offered trendy clothes at prices lower than the market. Trusting the store, Rai placed an order and paid in advance since cash on delivery wasn’t available. She was assured that her order would be delivered within 10 days. However, when the dress didn’t arrive, she discovered that the Instagram account had been deactivated and the contact number was unreachable.

Rai’s experience is not unique. An increasing number of Instagram users are falling victim to fraudulent online stores. According to the cybercrime portal (1930) under Karnataka Police, there has been a notable rise in such cases.

Many fall prey to these scams because Instagram stores often don't offer cash on delivery, forcing customers to pay in advance. “People fall prey to the reduced prices displayed on Instagram when compared to physical stores. Instagram is just a platform for advertising and does not guarantee the security of the payments made by the customer,” CB Ryshyanth, Superintendent of Police (Wireless), told Salar News.

Fraudsters create fake pages of shopping outlets on social media platforms and run fake advertisements to attract targets. “The targets pay via Google Pay, Paytm or Phone Pe accounts linked to SIM cards with fake names and addresses making it difficult for police to trace them,’’ Ryshyanth said. —Salar News