Woman tries to get Rs 79 refund, loses Rs 40K

Priya Agarwal of Sowcarpet, pursuing a computer course in Vadapalani, had ordered food worth Rs 79 via UberEats application from her phone. But the order got cancelled and she did not get the refund.

Following this, Priya searched for UberEats’ customer care number on Google and found one on Quora. When she called the number, the person who answered the phone allegedly told her that they cannot reimburse the amount as it was a very small amount and asked her to send Rs 5,000 through Google Pay in order get Rs 5,079 as reimbursement. Believing him, Priya sent the money and called the ‘customer care’ number again.

However, the person told her that he did not receive the sum and asked her to try again. Priya sent Rs 5,000 eight times, totalling Rs 40,000. When she tried calling the number again, the mobile phone was switched off.

That is when Priya realised that she had been cheated and lodged a complaint at the Vadapalani police station. The police have registered a case and are considering transferring it to the cybercrime or bank fraud wing of Central Crime Branch.

The police said that people should be wary of fake customer care numbers available online and should make their transactions only after ensuring the credibility of the person they speak to over the phone.

DT Next had earlier reported the city crime branch sleuths hunting for conmen who swindled money from gullible people by setting up fake customer care centres. The suspects used mobile apps of payment banks to empty their bank accounts. Fraudsters set up fake customer call centre to swindle money. Customers reach out to them after obtaining such numbers from the internet.