Editor | Sep 10, 2020

Leading online marketplace Snapdeal finds itself in a situation yet again. The ecommerce company, which is one of the top three in India, was allegedly taken for a royal ride by an unscrupulous buyer. Aman Gupta, a resident of Lucknow reportedly followed a systematic plan to rip Snapdeal off a neat Rs. 24 lakhs. Subsequently the 3rd year B.Tech student, Gupta was arrested by the Hazratganj cyber cell police on charges of cheating Snapdeal.

Gupta’s modus operandi

Gupta would order high end products, pay for it, and accept the product. He would then replace the product with a similar item of a different company of much lesser value. In a few hours on the same day, Gupta would raise a complaint with Snapdeal saying that the product was not what he ordered. He would then happily keep the original, accept the refund and return a totally different item to the company.

SSP Rajesh Pandey noted, “This way he managed to keep expensive items and in addition got the amount he would pay.”



The student managed to keep up the game for nearly six months. Suspecting foul play, Snapdeal discovered that while different IDs were placing the orders, the bank account number was the same. The company immediately alerted the cyber cell through a complaint. The latter took it up, and caught Gupta. His account was seized, along with items purchased worth nearly Rs. 2 lakh.



Past instances and tips to tackle fake buyers

This is not a new occurrence to online sellers. Flipkart faced a similar problem last year. The company refunded the money when a customer claimed to have got paper instead of the iPhone he had ordered. Flipkart ordered an inquiry, and discovered that the phone was in the possession of the customer to whom it was delivered (through the phone’s IMEI number). Based on Flipkart’s complaint, the fraudsters were arrested.

This article suggests a few ways to deal with cheating customers. Online sellers beware, keep track of the products that you sell, and if you suspect foul play, call out the problem immediately to avoid losses.

