Highlights:
1. A 22-year-old engineering student from Bengaluru has been arrested for a Rs 20 lakh refund scam with Amazon. He created fake returns of expensive gadgets like iPhones and MacBooks and successfully obtained refunds.
2. The student, named Chirag Gupta, made fraudulent returns of 16 iPhones and 2 MacBooks with the help of a friend. He manipulated the backend system to show that the items were returned, even though he never actually returned them.
3. Amazon became suspicious of Gupta’s purchasing habits and discovered that the items were not actually refunded. They were all purchased using credit cards and UPI payments, and Gupta had cheated Amazon of Rs 3.4 lakhs.
4. The police seized gadgets worth Rs 20.34 lakhs from Gupta and froze around Rs 30 lakhs in bank accounts related to the scam. It was revealed that Gupta and his friend were selling these items through crypto transactions, earning a commission on each sale.
5. The main perpetrator of the scam was a former employee of Amazon who had manipulated the backend system. The investigation uncovered Gupta’s involvement and the extent of his fraudulent activities.
A surprising news has emerged from Bengaluru. A 22-year-old engineering student from Bengaluru has pulled off a refund scam worth Rs. 20 lakhs with Amazon. He fraudulently obtained refunds for expensive gadgets like iPhones and MacBooks, and even succeeded in getting the refunds credited to his account. The police have arrested Chirag Gupta, the engineering student residing in North Bengaluru, in connection with this scam. This incident has left the company astonished.
According to reports, Gupta, with the help of a friend, created fake returns for 16 iPhones and 2 MacBooks. He manipulated the backend system to indicate that the items had been returned. The Indian Express reported that an iPhone 14 Pro Max worth Rs. 1.27 lakhs was purchased on May 15, an iPhone 14 valued at Rs. 84,999 and another iPhone 14 model worth Rs. 90,999 and Rs. 84,999 were purchased on May 16 and May 17, respectively. All these gadgets were purchased using a debit card and UPI. The accused had swindled Amazon of Rs. 3.40 lakhs through these devices.
It was when Amazon began to doubt Gupta’s purchasing habits that they suspected something was amiss. They discovered that these items were never actually returned, even though they were marked as such in the system. All the devices were purchased with the same address, but Gupta never made it a part of his inventory. This prompted an executive to question Gupta about why he had returned all those devices. In response, Gupta revealed that he had found a way to get a refund without returning the items, thanks to a friend in Madhya Pradesh.
The police seized gadgets worth Rs. 20.34 lakhs from engineering student Chirag Gupta and froze several bank accounts linked to the accused, holding Rs. 30 lakhs. What’s astonishing is that the main accused in this scam, a former employee of Amazon, had carried out the manipulation in the backend system. It was revealed that Gupta and his friend were selling these items through cryptocurrency transactions. Gupta received a commission on each item sold.
This incident serves as a reminder that online scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated and difficult to detect. Online platforms need to strengthen their security measures to prevent such scams in the future.
