Many falling prey to fake ads online

False advertising — showcasing a premium item and delivering a substandard one — is a growing problem in Bengaluru.

Psychiatrist Dr Vinod Jain, a resident of Jayanagar, ordered a Bose bluetooth speaker on a leading news website. What he got was a tacky China brand, with no resemblance to the item advertised. The delivery boy, when questioned, threatened to physically harm Jain.

“This is a complete con job and has to be stopped. A lot of people are falling prey to it,” he told Metrolife.

Jain, who has also worked in London, says the Indian government must come up with a consumer rights protection system like the one in the UK, where a complaint is enough to bust a racket of this sort.

The advertisement used a picture of a Bose speaker that costs Rs 16,200 on Amazon, and offered it for just Rs 3,990.

Lal Krishna, an IT professional from RT Nagar, ordered a JBL speaker online. “I clicked on the link given on an Instagram page by name ‘khaler_singh’. It took me to another website. A product priced at Rs 11,000 was available at Rs 2,500,” he says.

The website looked genuine, with an email address and a return policy. Krishna went ahead and placed the order.

“The product was delivered in three business days. Later that night, when I opened the package, I was shocked to find a low-quality speaker,” he says.

His emails and calls went unanswered.

“Later when I checked the website, the advertisement was no longer visible,” says Krishna.

Jail for brand endorsers

The Consumer Protection Bill of 2018 seeks to jail celebrities making false endorsements with a penalty of up to Rs 50 lakh. No celebrity has been penalised or jailed so far for making fake endorsements.

Model booked for cheat link

Earlier this week, model and Bigg Boss 11 contestant Bandgi Kalra was booked following a complaint filed by an engineering student in Bengaluru.

She had posted a link to an advertisement for iPhone X on her Instagram account. It was priced at Rs 61,000, while its market price is Rs. 1,03,990.

Yuvaraj Singh Yadav, who followed her on Instagram, got a cheap Chinese phone and not an iPhone. He has filed a complaint with the Marathahalli police.

Conned?
Here’s what you can do

In case of online cheating, the consumer can approach the cyber police or the jurisdictional police station directly and initiate criminal prosecution, without issuing any notice, says advocate K B K Swamy. “Such online cases can be dealt with both under the cyber crime and the consumer protection laws,” he told Metrolife.