Gang registers as seller with e-commerce company Meesho, exploits returns policy & swindles Rs 5.5 crore in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The Bengaluru cybercrime police have busted a gang that registered as sellers with the e-commerce company, Meesho, exploiting their returns policy and defrauding the company of Rs 5.5 crore over seven months.

The police arrested Uttam Kumar, Parthbhai, and Maulik from a makeshift commercial setup in Surat, Gujarat, while three accomplices remain at large. The arrests followed a complaint filed by Meesho's nodal officer with the cybercrime unit at the police commissioner’s office.

Modus operandi

The complaint stated that a Gujarat-based seller, Om Sai Fashion, in collusion with a third-party agent, created fake buyers and manipulated Meesho’s returns process.

The suspects created hundreds of bogus consumer accounts with fake addresses and phone numbers. They placed an average of 2,500 orders monthly with Om Sai Fashion. Since the delivery addresses were fictitious, all parcels were returned to the seller. The suspects opened the returned packages, filmed the process, and falsely claimed the parcels contained incorrect items. They submitted these videos to Meesho and applied for refunds.

Fraud uncovered

Meesho's audit team flagged discrepancies between the sold and returned items, prompting a deeper investigation.

The police traced large payments to two bank accounts linked to Om Sai Fashion, uncovering the scam. During interrogation, the arrested suspects confessed to the scheme.

Investigators revealed that the gang was involved in a similar fraud in 2023, where an e-commerce company was defrauded of Rs 56 lakh. The Whitefield CEN police station had registered a case, but the suspects evaded arrest. The cybercrime police have now reopened the earlier case for investigation.

Meesho’s nodal officer stated that the fraud went unnoticed until audit discrepancies surfaced, highlighting the challenges in detecting well-planned scams.

The investigation is underway to arrest the remaining suspects and recover additional evidence.