In a recent update, India’s online shopping platform, Myntra has filed a complaint with the Bengaluru Police after losing Rs 1.1 crore to fraudulent orders placed across the city.
How Did This Happen?
It appears that the scammers used the e-commerce company’s refund option to cheat it of Rs 50 crore in orders placed across the country, of which 5,529 were placed in Bengaluru, as per the media report.
The online shopping platform elaborated that the cheats would place orders in bulk for expensive branded shoes, clothes, accessories, and jewellery, in its complain.
Further, these customers would clear the payments but would report certain items missing from their orders or complain that the products received were different from what had been ordered.
After the request was raised on its app or website, Myntra would initiate a refund for the faulty orders.
For instance, if a person placed an order for 10 pairs of branded shoes, after receiving the parcel, they would claim that the parcel had only five pairs as per an explanation given by a police officer to the media.
This way, the refunds would be claimed for the remaining five pairs of shoes which they have paid for.
Similarly, some of the fraudsters who placed orders for clothes complained that the clothes they had ordered did not match the colour and size they ordered while requesting a refund, said the officer.
A Significant Turnaround From Losses
Interestingly, this fraud came to light during an audit, said Sardar MS, Myntra Designs enforcement officer in a media interaction.
Further adding that the company wanted to lodge a complaint for the loss it faced due to fraudulent orders placed across the country.
However, the police urged them to file a complaint on the basis of the cases based in the city.
So far, they suspect a gang from Rajasthan to be involved in the scam and are investigating it, according to the Bengaluru Police.
In the meantime, Myntra, which is the fashion e-commerce platform owned by Walmart, has reported a profit of Rs 30.9 crore for the fiscal year ending March 2024.
This appears to be a significant turnaround from a loss of Rs 782.4 crore in FY23.
Also marks the company’s recovery through increased revenue and strategic cost management.
