Food app users cheated, case filed

The complaint stated that the company’s customers were asked to install an app through these fake websites, following which money was debited from their accounts.

Officials of a prominent food delivery app filed a complaint with the police, alleging that their customers have been defrauded of money through fake websites, mobile apps and phone numbers of the company.

The police said they had received a complaint on July 25 from Zomato Media Private Limited. (Indranil Bhoumik/Mint (Representative image))

The complaint stated that the company’s customers were asked to install an app through these fake websites, following which money was debited from their accounts.

A case under Section 420 (cheating) of the IPC and sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act, 2000, was registered at the Cyber police station on Tuesday.

The police said they had received a complaint on July 25 from Zomato Media Private Limited.

Robin Dabas, manager of threat operations at Zomato, said, “The company provides a platform for redressal of customer complaints, by way of a customer support chat available on the mobile application platform. Also, aggrieved customer can write a message to us on our website and we do not have any customer care helpline phone numbers,” he said.

Dabas said in the last two months, they received multiple complaints from their customers regarding fake customer care websites and contact numbers on the internet. “Customers who approached these fake websites and contacted the given mobile numbers for resolutions are being cheated and duped in different ways. One of the customers told us that on June 20, he called a given number from Bengaluru to raise an issue with respect to a home food delivery order and sought a refund for the same. The said number was obtained by him from the internet,” said Dabas.

However, Dabas said the company does not have a customer care number, but provides support through the chat window. “The person impersonating the customer care agent of Zomato engaged with the customer to redress the grievance. The impersonator offered to refund ₹89 to the customer. Initially, the impersonator said that the amount will be refunded in the bank account of the customer within 24 hours. However, thereafter the customer received a call back from the same number and was told that the amount can be refunded instantly through a UPI app. In order to refund the amount the impersonator asked the customer to install an application which gives remote access of the device being used by the user and further take certain other steps for the refund,” said Dabas.

The police said after following the steps the victim’s account was debited of ₹17,286.

Karan Goel, the assistant commissioner of police (DLF), said that the company, after getting to know of such incidents, found that seven such fake websites.

“We have written to the platforms concerned to block the websites and registered the cases. Teams have been formed and call detail records of the given mobile numbers will be taken out and based on their locations, raids will be conducted this week,” said Goel.