Amazon duped with dummy phones in returns, case filed

Following a 10-month-long investigation, the police on Tuesday registered a complaint against unidentified persons for duping an e-commerce company of over ₹20 lakh in the year preceding last July, when a complaint was lodged in this regard. The police said that in the alleged frauds, members of a gang ordered expensive phones, mostly iPhones, and replaced them with dummy phones while returning the order, as per the company’s policy.

Following a 10-month-long investigation, the police on Tuesday registered a complaint against unidentified persons for duping e-commerce company Amazon India of over ₹20 lakh in the year preceding last July, when a complaint was lodged in this regard.

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The police said that in the alleged frauds, members of a gang ordered expensive phones, mostly iPhones, and replaced them with dummy phones while returning the order, as per the company’s policy.

KK Rao, the commissioner of police, said, “They order Apple iPhones from the website with the choice of paying online or paying on receipt of product. Later, they return duplicate phones using the e-commerce website’s return policy.”

Rao said that similar cases have been registered at multiple police stations in the city and they have arrested four people for stealing iPhones after replacing them with cloned ones. “On May 30, we had arrested a delivery associate of an e-commerce company for allegedly stealing seven iPhones and replacing them with dummy phones in the boxes. The consignment had Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro Max model, which was marked undelivered and was deposited to the warehouse on the same day. Later, the phones were found to be fake,” he said.

During the investigation, the police found that several accounts were created on the website using aliases and mobile numbers procured on incorrect documentation. The gang members had ordered items of high value. “Making use of the return policy of the e-commerce website, the accused packed duplicate products in the company packaging and returned them. The people then received a refund for the original product,” said Rao.

The police said similar cases have been reported in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Pune, Mumbai and Bengaluru. More than 50 people have been arrested this year from different cities for such scams, the police said.

Rao said that in as many as 100 instances, the gang had cited performance issues for returning the phones. They pasted the IMEI number of the original products on the duplicate one so as to not arouse suspicion. “The cloned phones were brought from Delhi. We have questioned the shopkeeper dealing in these fake mobile phones that are also called dummy phones,” he said.

A case under Section 420 (fraud) of the Indian Penal Code was registered at IMT Manesar police station and the IP address of the suspects was identified. The police said they use cyber café and other public networks to order the electronic gadgets.

Aditya Singh, authorised representative for Amazon, told the police that these cases have been reported since 2019. “Earlier, a gang from Rajasthan was arrested that used to order cameras and later return them after replacing them with cloned ones. The same modus operandi is followed by the Gururgam gang. They give locations of remote places where our delivery persons do not deliver and a third party delivery man is sent. As the delivery man cannot make out a difference between a clones and original phone, refund is initiated and later they are found to be fake,” he said, adding that similar cases are being reported from Delhi.