Shopping
Fake shopping sites and prices that are far too low
A huge discount on a link from an ad, paid only by UPI to a person, is a common way orders disappear.
The site uses a familiar brand, a festival sale, and a price no other shop can match. You pay. The order page vanishes, or a “support” chat asks for another payment to release the item.
Before you pay
Read the site address. Extra words, a hyphen, or a strange ending next to a known shop name are a warning.
Leave the ad or the message and type the shop’s address yourself. Compare the price there.
Be careful if the only way to pay is a UPI transfer to a person’s name. A shop that will not use its own checkout is asking you to send money with no record they have to honour.
Do not enter a card PIN or an OTP because the page says the order is on hold.
Cash on delivery that turns into “pay a small fee to dispatch” is the same trap, one step later.
If you paid, save the site address, the amount, and the UPI or card receipt. Call the bank and 1930. Do not pay a second fee to the same site.
If money has already left your account, call 1930 or report at cybercrime.gov.in. This page is awareness information. It does not file a complaint.