GURUGRAM: Anticipating the possible effects of more than a month of dry run on tipplers, fraudsters from Jamtara and Bharatpur, cottage industries for cybercrime in India, are creating fake pages and circulating messages promising home delivery of liquor. On Wednesday, the excise department filed a complaint with the cyber cell in Gurugram.
TOI found 10 such fake pages, promising liquor delivery in Gurugram. All of them use names of prominent liquor stores in the city, with a typo or two — which is why looking for one liquor store lead to several pages with similar names, only one of which is genuine. They provide a number for buyers to call and place orders, promising “24 hours” service. And always insist on online payment before the delivery is made. The pages have all been created this month and have a following in the double digits. There are no responses to comments from people asking how the delivery could possibly take place during a lockdown.
With many such messages doing the rounds, excise and taxation officer Anshuman Thukral tested the system. “I called up one of the numbers posted on social media and ordered two bottles of 100 Pipers to be delivered. The person on the other end of the line asked me to send Rs 500 on Paytm. After that went through, he asked for another Rs 700. In all, I transferred Rs 1,200 and saw that it was a scam,” he said.
Police said the numbers were traced to the number of complaints about home delivery frauds have gone up. “And most of them are about liquor. The initial investigation traced all the numbers to Jamtara and Bharatpur, infamous for online banking frauds,” said ACP Karan Goyal.
While people being scammed is one problem, the delivery promise coming through poses an even bigger threat. “If there is any supply of liquor by these frauds, it may be spurious,” deputy excise commissioner HC Dahiya said. “Under excise rules, such illegal activities can lead to imprisonment up to three years and penalty of Rs 10 lakh.”
With a spate of such cases, a Gurugram-based liquor store posted a disclaimer at the beginning of the month: “We are not selling or providing any kind of Liquor to any person by any possible means, so if someone offers you for Home Delivery or Selling in Black then he/she surely doesn't belong to (the name of the store).” It added, “You should complain against that fake person to Cyber Crime department if he has cheated you by taking advance payment.”
Another liquor store, Discovery Wines, also found its name was being misused by a scammer. “A message on WhatsApp was being circulated, claiming Discovery Wines would deliver liquor at home and asking for payments on Paytm or UPI. The claims are false,” a spokesperson said.
Awareness, police said, is the only way to stop such frauds. “We urge people not to fall for such posts. Being aware is the most effective way to prevent such crimes,” ACP Goyal said.
TOI found 10 such fake pages, promising liquor delivery in Gurugram. All of them use names of prominent liquor stores in the city, with a typo or two — which is why looking for one liquor store lead to several pages with similar names, only one of which is genuine. They provide a number for buyers to call and place orders, promising “24 hours” service. And always insist on online payment before the delivery is made. The pages have all been created this month and have a following in the double digits. There are no responses to comments from people asking how the delivery could possibly take place during a lockdown.
With many such messages doing the rounds, excise and taxation officer Anshuman Thukral tested the system. “I called up one of the numbers posted on social media and ordered two bottles of 100 Pipers to be delivered. The person on the other end of the line asked me to send Rs 500 on Paytm. After that went through, he asked for another Rs 700. In all, I transferred Rs 1,200 and saw that it was a scam,” he said.
Police said the numbers were traced to the number of complaints about home delivery frauds have gone up. “And most of them are about liquor. The initial investigation traced all the numbers to Jamtara and Bharatpur, infamous for online banking frauds,” said ACP Karan Goyal.
While people being scammed is one problem, the delivery promise coming through poses an even bigger threat. “If there is any supply of liquor by these frauds, it may be spurious,” deputy excise commissioner HC Dahiya said. “Under excise rules, such illegal activities can lead to imprisonment up to three years and penalty of Rs 10 lakh.”
With a spate of such cases, a Gurugram-based liquor store posted a disclaimer at the beginning of the month: “We are not selling or providing any kind of Liquor to any person by any possible means, so if someone offers you for Home Delivery or Selling in Black then he/she surely doesn't belong to (the name of the store).” It added, “You should complain against that fake person to Cyber Crime department if he has cheated you by taking advance payment.”
Another liquor store, Discovery Wines, also found its name was being misused by a scammer. “A message on WhatsApp was being circulated, claiming Discovery Wines would deliver liquor at home and asking for payments on Paytm or UPI. The claims are false,” a spokesperson said.
Awareness, police said, is the only way to stop such frauds. “We urge people not to fall for such posts. Being aware is the most effective way to prevent such crimes,” ACP Goyal said.
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