In a major cybercrime operation, the Bengaluru police arrested three men from Gujarat for allegedly exploiting Meesho’s return policy to defraud the e-commerce platform of Rs 5.5 crore over seven months. The arrested suspects—Uttam Kumar, Parthbhai, and Maulik—were apprehended in Surat, where they had set up a makeshift commercial operation. Three more individuals involved in the scam remain at large.
The investigation began after Meesho’s nodal officer filed a complaint with the cybercrime police, accusing a Gujarat-based seller, Om Sai Fashion, of colluding with third-party agents to create fake buyer accounts. Between January and July, the suspects fabricated hundreds of consumer profiles using false contact details and delivery addresses. These fraudulent profiles placed approximately 2,500 orders on Meesho, all of which were returned due to invalid addresses. The suspects then filmed the opened packages, claiming the returned items were damaged, and submitted the videos to Meesho for reimbursement.
A detailed audit by Meesho uncovered discrepancies, leading to a police investigation that traced the fraudulent transactions to two bank accounts linked to Om Sai Fashion. The suspects have confessed to orchestrating the scheme. Further scrutiny revealed their involvement in a similar fraud case in 2023, where they defrauded another e-commerce platform of Rs 56 lakh. Although they had evaded arrest earlier, the cybercrime police have reopened the case.
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