Sanjay Pandita
Early Times Report
Jammu, Oct 30: With the festive shopping season in full swing, cyber fraudsters have stepped up their activities and started cheating gullible people in the name of discount scams. The public has been advised to remain vigilant while shopping online.
Fake shopping advertisements can copy the name, logo and product images of popular e-commerce platforms, making them look completely familiar on social media feeds. Such ads often promise heavy discounts, flash sales or “limited period” offers to tempt users into clicking.
However, the moment a user clicks on such an advertisement, they may be taken to a lookalike website controlled by scammers. There, people are made to pay for an order that never arrives, and in some cases their bank or card details are also stolen.
After receiving complaints from a number of customers, the Jammu and Kashmir Police have issued an advisory and asked people be wary of offers that look too good to be true, such as unusually steep discounts on popular products.
“Do not shop through links in social media ads or forwarded messages. Visit the official website or app of the platform directly”, police advised, adding, “Check the web address carefully for spelling errors or odd extensions before making any payment. Never share your OTP, PIN, CVV or card details with anyone”. |
