Tech for Beginners Part 50: Spotting Fake Shopping Websites and Delivery Scams

"iPhone at ₹4,999! Festival clearance sale, only today." "Your parcel could not be delivered due to an incomplete address. Update here." Messages like these reach millions of Indian phones every week, especially during festive sales. Some lead to fake shopping websites that take your money and send nothing; others steal your card details or install malware. This is Part 50 of our Tech for Beginners series. Today we will learn how to spot too-good-to-be-true discount sites, scams run through social media shops, fake delivery and "address update" messages, how to check a website's real address, and how to pay in ways that protect you.

This part builds on our scam-awareness lessons: common scams in Part 25, phishing links and fake apps in Part 27, and UPI safety in Part 23. If you have already lost money, go straight to the reporting steps in Part 28.

A note on changes: scammers constantly change their tricks, brand names and website addresses, so no list of fake sites stays current for long. Focus on the warning signs below rather than specific names. Reporting channels mentioned here were current on official government sites at the time of writing.

Part A: Fake discount websites

How the scam works

Criminals build websites that look like a real brand or a big sale. They advertise through social media ads, WhatsApp forwards and SMS. Prices are unbelievably low: branded shoes at 90 percent off, a smartwatch for ₹299, a pressure cooker for ₹199. You pay, and either nothing arrives, a cheap fake arrives, or your card details are stolen.

Warning signs

• Prices far below what every well-known shop charges.
• A countdown timer pushing you to "buy in the next 10 minutes".
• Only prepaid payment; cash on delivery is "not available" for every item.
• Strange web addresses, like big-billion-sale-offer.shop or amaz0n-deals.in.
• No real contact address, no GST details, or only a WhatsApp number for support.
• Spelling mistakes, copied logos and photos taken from other websites.
• Payment to a personal UPI ID or to a name that does not match the shop.
• Newly created websites with no history and no independent reviews.

Part B: Social media shop scams

Instagram and Facebook pages, YouTube ads and WhatsApp groups are common places for fake shops.

• Fake boutique pages: beautiful sarees, kurtas or jewellery photos copied from real designers. After payment by UPI, the page blocks you.
• Fake follower counts: thousands of followers and comments can be bought. Look for real customer tags and long history.
• "Order by DM only": sellers who refuse COD, invoices or a proper website deserve extra caution.
• Second-hand marketplace scams: on OLX or Facebook Marketplace, a "buyer" may send a QR code saying "scan to receive payment". Scanning a QR code and entering your PIN always sends money; it never receives it.
• Fake "army officer" sellers: a person claims to be posted elsewhere and asks for an advance to "release" a bike or furniture. This is a long-running scam pattern in India.

Before paying a social media seller

1. Search the page name plus "fraud" or "review" on Google.
2. Ask for COD, or pay through a known marketplace instead.
3. Start with a small order.
4. Never pay an "advance", "registration fee" or "delivery charge" to an unknown person.

Part C: Fake delivery and "address update" messages

Because almost everyone is waiting for a parcel at some point, delivery scams are very effective. Common messages include:

• "Your India Post parcel is on hold due to an incomplete address. Update within 24 hours: [link]"
• "Pay ₹25 redelivery fee to receive your package."
• "Customs duty pending for your international parcel."
• A call saying a parcel in your name contains drugs, which then turns into a "digital arrest" scam, as we explained in Part 26.

How to handle them

1. Do not click the link. Real tracking is in the shopping app or on the official courier website, which you can open by typing the address yourself.
2. Check your own orders. If you did not order anything from that courier, ignore the message.
3. India Post and major couriers say they do not ask for payments or card details through random SMS links. Be suspicious of any payment request for "redelivery".
4. Never share an OTP or card details on a page reached through such a link.
5. Report suspicious SMS and calls through Chakshu on Sanchar Saathi.

Part D: Checking a website's real address

The web address, or domain, tells you who really owns a site. In our search lesson in Part 17 we saw how to read it. Here is a quick check:

1. Look at the part just before the first single slash. In https://www.flipkart.com/offers, the domain is flipkart.com.
2. Watch for tricks: flipkart.com.offer-sale.top belongs to offer-sale.top, not Flipkart.
3. Look for swapped letters or numbers: amazon vs amaz0n, rn instead of m.
4. The padlock or "https" only means the connection is encrypted. Scam sites can have it too, so it does not prove a site is genuine.
5. Prefer opening shops by typing their address yourself or using their official app.

Extra checks for unfamiliar sites

• Search for the site name with words like "scam", "fake" or "reviews".
• Look for a proper "About us" page, a physical address and a GSTIN, and check whether they make sense.
• Be wary if the site was created only a few weeks ago; free "domain age" lookup tools can show this.
• Google Chrome and other browsers may show a red warning page for known dangerous sites. Never ignore it.

Part E: Paying safely

• Prefer cash on delivery on unfamiliar websites.
• Use a credit card for online purchases, so you can raise a dispute with your bank if the goods do not arrive.
• Check the payee name on the UPI screen before entering your PIN. If a shop called "TrendyKart" shows a personal name, stop.
• Set limits: many banking apps let you set lower limits for online card transactions, or turn international and online use on only when needed.
• Use a separate low-balance account for online shopping if you shop often on new sites.
• Turn on SMS and email alerts so you notice any unknown transaction immediately.

Part F: If you have been cheated

1. Call 1930 immediately or report at cybercrime.gov.in. The sooner you report, the better the chance of freezing the money.
2. Call your bank to block your card or UPI if you shared details.
3. Keep screenshots of the website, ads, chats, payment and transaction IDs.
4. For a genuine seller who refuses a refund, use the National Consumer Helpline on 1915, covered in Part 49.

Part G: Festive season and "lucky draw" traps

Scams increase sharply around big shopping events such as Diwali, Republic Day and year-end sales. Watch out for these festive patterns:

• "Spin the wheel" or "scratch card" links that say you have won a phone, and ask for a small "delivery fee".
• Fake gift messages that appear to come from a well-known brand celebrating its anniversary, asking you to forward the message to ten friends before claiming a prize.
• Fake loyalty points SMS claiming your reward points are expiring today, with a link to "redeem" them that asks for card details.
• Fake job offers to "review products" or "like videos" for money, which later demand deposits.

Real companies do not ask you to pay to receive a prize. If an offer requires a payment, a forward chain or your card details to claim something free, it is a scam.

Part H: Teach the family a 10-second rule

Before clicking any shopping or delivery link, pause for ten seconds and ask three questions: Did I order this? Did I open this site myself? Does the price make sense? If the answer to any of them is no, close the message. Share this rule in your family WhatsApp group; it protects elders and teenagers alike.

Frequently asked questions

The site has an https padlock. Doesn't that mean it is safe?

No. The padlock only means data is encrypted on the way to the site. It does not tell you whether the people running the site are honest.

I clicked a fake delivery link but did not enter anything. Am I safe?

Usually the risk is lower if you entered no details and installed nothing. Close the page, do not download any file, and run a security scan if your phone offers one. If you entered card details, block the card immediately.

How do I know if a sale on a real app is genuine?

Open the app directly and look for the offer there. If it is not in the official app or website, treat the advertised deal as suspicious.

Can I get my money back after paying a fake website?

Sometimes, if you report quickly. Call 1930 or report on cybercrime.gov.in and inform your bank at once. Card payments can also be disputed with your bank. Recovery is not guaranteed, so prevention is always better.

What is next

Try this today: check your SMS inbox for any delivery messages with links, and practise reading the true domain of three shopping links. In the next part of Tech for Beginners, we will explore smart home basics: smart speakers, plugs and bulbs.