A retired woman in Rajkot lost Rs 1.91 lakh in a refund scam linked to a spoilt milk delivery, highlighting a growing pattern of fraud targeting elderly women seeking refunds for online purchases across Indian cities.
A 63-year-old retired woman in Rajkot has allegedly lost Rs 1.91 lakh after falling victim to a refund scam tied to a spoilt milk delivery, according to India Today. Police said she had ordered five packets of milk through Zepto and later found the product unusable, prompting her to look up a customer care number online.
What followed was a familiar fraud pattern that has been surfacing in several Indian cities. India Today said the woman dialled a number returned by Google search and was connected to a caller who identified himself as Ismail Ansari and claimed to work for Zepto. He allegedly persuaded her that the refund could be processed through UPI, then sent an APK file, a type of Android app package that can be used to install software on a phone. The woman was then allegedly induced to transfer money to multiple bank accounts and UPI IDs.
After realising she had been cheated, the woman contacted the national cyber helpline, and police registered a case at the Rajkot City Cyber Crime Police Station. Investigators are examining the mobile numbers, bank accounts and UPI handles used in the transactions, and charges of cheating and offences under the Information Technology Act have been invoked, India Today reported.
The Rajkot case fits a broader pattern documented in recent local reports. The Times of India has carried similar accounts from Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad, in which older women were targeted after seeking refunds for missing or spoiled grocery items, with losses ranging from tens of thousands of rupees to nearly Rs 1 lakh. In each case, fraudsters allegedly used fake customer service identities, malicious apps or requests for sensitive banking details to drain accounts, underscoring the risks of relying on unverified contact numbers found online.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
