Mangaluru: Cake Order Scam – Cybercriminals attempt to defraud shop owner

Team Udayavani, Sep 30, 2024, 8:55 AM IST

Representative image (Credit: iStock)

Mangaluru: A cake shop owner was targeted by a scammer pretending to place a large order. The incident took place in Bajpe, where an unknown person called the cake shop owner, introducing himself in Hindi as a CISF (Central Industrial Security Force) officer stationed at Mangalore International Airport.

The caller urgently requested a 4-kg cake for the airport, asking for the total cost. The shop owner informed him that the bill would be Rs 2,800. The scammer then insisted on paying through Google Pay and asked for the owner’s payment number, promising to send a boy to pick up the cake. As the shop owner was busy, he shared his wife’s Google Pay number. The call was disconnected shortly after.

Rs 28,000 Instead of Rs 2,800!

A short while later, the owner’s wife called him, saying she had received a message stating that Rs 28,000 had been transferred to her account instead of Rs 2,800. The scammer then called back, apologizing for the “mistake” and claiming that the Rs 28,000 was meant for his medication. He pleaded with the owner to keep Rs 2,800 and return the remaining Rs 25,200. The owner agreed and contacted his wife.

However, the owner’s wife noted that although she had received a message, the amount hadn’t been credited to her account yet. The shop owner informed the scammer about this, but he insisted that the money must have been transferred if the message was received.

A conference call between the scammer, the shop owner, and his wife was set up. The scammer repeatedly claimed that the money had been transferred and emotionally pleaded for the amount to be returned, saying it was for his medicine. The owner’s wife wisely ended the conference call and decided to recheck the messages.

Fake Messages!

Upon further investigation, the shop owner’s wife realized that the Rs 28,000 message was not from the bank but from the scammer himself. The scammer had sent a fake message pretending to be a bank alert. When they informed the scammer about this, he disconnected the call immediately. Thanks to the quick thinking of the shop owner’s wife, the fraud attempt was thwarted.

A Warning to Business Owners

Such cases of fraud targeting shop owners are on the rise. The bakery owner has urged other business owners to be cautious while accepting payments through UPI without proper verification. Similar incidents have been reported in other parts of the district, but they often go unnoticed as no one comes forward to file a formal complaint.