A 63-year-old retired woman in Rajkot, Gujarat, allegedly lost ₹1.91 lakh to a cyber fraudster while trying to get a refund of just ₹175 for spoiled milk.
The woman had ordered five packets of milk from Zepto. After finding the milk spoiled, she searched online for the platform’s customer care number and called a number that appeared in the search results.
The person who answered allegedly posed as a Zepto customer care executive and introduced himself as Ismail Ansari. He reportedly convinced the woman that her refund could be processed through UPI.
The fraudster then allegedly sent her an APK file and instructed her to download it. Following the instructions, the woman was allegedly tricked into transferring a total of ₹1.91 lakh to multiple bank accounts and UPI IDs.
Realising she had been scammed, the woman contacted the national cyber helpline and approached the police.
An FIR has been registered at the Rajkot City Cyber Crime Police Station under cheating provisions and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act.
Police are now examining the mobile numbers, bank accounts and UPI IDs allegedly used in the fraud to identify and trace those involved.
Scam Alert
Never trust customer-care numbers found through random Google searches. Use only the official app or website of the company, and never download APK files or share banking details at the request of an unknown caller.
