My First Online Transaction Was A One Month Long Adventure

This was the first online transaction I was doing in my life. A Facebook ad link took me to this website with an amazing offer. I went ahead with the purchase. But that was just the beginning of the story that followed.

The incident dates back 10 years. I was in my late teens and was enjoying life to the fullest. I had taken the phrase - "work hard, party harder" a bit too seriously. I was working literally 12 to 15 hours a day to achieve success in my career.

After a hard day at work, a group of party animals and I hit the bar at 10 pm. almost 5 days a week - Tuesday to Saturday. We used to party hard and come back home only in the wee hours of the morning. Sunday and Monday were days we used to rest our bodies to get ready for the next 5 days of alcoholic fun.

I was single then and ready to mingle. So with alcohol in my veins and testosterones dancing in my blood, I was one of those guys who would do anything to gain attention. I used to shop like a lady every weekend to keep myself updated. Who cared about investments? They can wait.

This was 2010, and I had some more cash in my pocket, courtesy of a promotion at work. This was also the phase when I was transitioning from Orkut to Facebook (remember those good old days). I was getting addicted to Facebook as there was always a race between us friends on the number of followers we had. It was just another status symbol and one which most of us boasted in groups.

One day while scrolling through my page on Facebook, an ad caught my attention. A company was selling a branded genuine leather wallet for Rs. 200 (for those wondering the rate, please divide it by 74 to get the current dollar value). It was offering a 95% limited period discount.

I clicked on the link out of curiosity and landed upon its portal. The landing page was well designed and quoted a reputed Indian news media brand as its parent company. The page was also full of great reviews by customers thanking the company for its excellent product and prompt service. The sale timer was ticking on top of the page, and I had one hour to make a decision.

How could I miss it? After all, the wallet is also used to make a style statement. I reached out to my wallet and pulled out my credit card. While I was aware of the risks of using the card online in those days, the big brand association gave me the confidence to go-ahead.

Voila, I had made my first purchase online, and it was immediately on my wall on FB wall for others to see.

Seven days later I got the delivery of the goods. I was busy at work, and my Mom called up to tell me that she had received a parcel. That night I reached home all excited.

I rushed to my room and, with great expectation, opened the parcel. And there it was, a badly stitched purse made of anything but leather with a cheap embroidered replica of the big brand logo. A small tag stitched on the inner side read, "Made in China." I was furious; these guys had cheated me.

I tried calling their helpline, but the number was not functional. I thought of going to the police but quickly realized that their time was more valuable for solving big cases than finding fraudsters selling cheap replicas for Rs. 200, and god knows from which location.

I threw the wallet in the bin out of frustration and forgot about it.

If you think this is the end of the story, sorry, you are highly mistaken. This was just the beginning.

Almost a week after this incident, I got a call from an unknown number. I picked up the call, and here it was, the person from the same company which had ditched me in my first online transaction. He said he called up to take feedback, and well, he got an earful from me.

While I was shouting at the top of my voice, the person at the other end was calm and trying to pacify me. After my rant, he calmly said, "Sir, we got such complaints from our other customers, and hence we are calling. We have blacklisted our vendor, and you will not face this issue again."

Again, what do you mean by again? I am not going to buy anything from you guys anymore. And what about my money? I said.

"Sir, we cannot do much about the Rs.200 because, as I said, we have terminated the contract with the vendor. But we have something else which I am sure you will not regret," said the sales guy.

He suggested that the company was selling an imported camera manufactured by a new entrant in the market. The digital camera worth Rs. 15000 was to be sold for Rs. 6250 to its existing customers as an introductory offer. But as a goodwill gesture, the company was giving it to a select few customers like me, who had purchased the faulty wallet at a reduced price of Rs. 6000 to cover our damages.

This guy had suddenly reinstated my trust in the company. During his discussion, he also quoted that there's was a reputed company of a branded media group, and they can't let their customers suffer as it affects their brand value.

I was ready for the deal, and the guy put me on to an IVR to punch in my card details and pin. I went ahead with the transaction and, as promised, got the camera within 7 days.

The camera didn't look great and was not from a brand that I knew. But the sales guy had told me that the company was new in the market. So I didn't really bother much. But like an idiot, I was more satisfied that I had got my Rs. 200 back for the faulty wallet along with an additional discount of Rs. 50.

A happy ending, right? Sorry, but this is still not the end.

One week later, I again got a call from the same guy. This time he had some good news. He said I was shortlisted for a sweepstake with top prize money of Rs. 1.5 million, and I was lucky to be among the top 100 list.

But there was a catch. To confirm my entry in the lucky draw, I had to buy a Handycam worth Rs. 15000. This was also a special offer for the sweepstake entrants, as the original price was Rs. 35000.

I told him to give me time, and he agreed. One hour was all I had to confirm; else, my entry would be disqualified and given to the next person on the waitlist.

I called him up in 15 mins and confirmed that I would like to participate. Again the same IVR procedure followed, and I was down 15k on my card.

The same history repeated. I got the Handycam within 7 days. The same non-branded cheap product that was going in my drawer.

But I was never interested in the product. I wanted the grand prize of Rs. 1.5mn to buy a car.

There were no calls for the following 10 days, and then my phone rang again. It was the same number. I was excited and almost went into my dream to finalize the car model I wanted to buy with that budget.

I picked up the call. The voice on the other side said, "Sir did you get any message?" Which message I asked. "Sir, the results of our sweepstake are out, and you would have received a message if you had won. You can also check the winners on our website."

I visited the portal and saw there were few names but couldn't find mine. "Sorry I didn't get any," I replied with a disappointed and heavy heart.

"Don't worry, Sir, we have something else for you. Leave that sweepstake. We have a bigger one coming, and this is for Rs. 2.5 mn. The amazing part this time is we have 10 prizes for only 20 entries, and you are one of them with an assured 50% winning chance."

This time I knew what was coming next. Another purchase to confirm my entry, and this time it was a 22-carat gold ring worth Rs. 75k for a reduced price of 49k for me (their elite customer).

By now, I had realized that something was not right. I had become more suspicious and asked him for 2 hours this time, to which he agreed. Luckily it was a Sunday, and I had enough time on hand to do my research, which I should have done long back.

I went on Google and did a name search of the company. And bang, there it was. The complaint and consumer forums were full of people reporting this scam. I understood that the sweepstakes and the entries never stopped. While I had already been duped for 22.2k (wallet, camera, and Handycam), there were others who had paid nearly 200k for various products.

Now I became more curious. I pulled out the Handycam and camera from my closet and searched for the brands. These were cheap Chinese local brands that were selling for less than half the price paid by me.

I realized that I had got conned by a smart fraudster. I was frustrated. I had lost 22K on my card, and nothing I could do about it.

I called up the number, and before the guy could begin, I started shouting and abusing him on the phone.

The guy initially tried to convince me that they were not fake but finally gave up when he realized that I knew more than he thought of their art. The shameless guy laughed and taunted me saying, "how can teenager and tech-savvy guys like you fall for such traps. I should thank you for your ignorance, and I am sorry I had to stop at a tiny amount."

I threatened him with a police report, but he was least bothered and disconnected the call.

I wrote with all the invoices to the branded media group under which these people were scamming people. As expected, they completely denied any linkages to this company. They also advised us to be more careful in the future and not take anyone online basis the face value.

This entire episode left a very sour taste in my mouth, and I avoided any online purchases for the next 3 to 4 years as I couldn't trust virtual sellers anymore. After some branded eCommerce sites like Amazon, eBay, and Flipkart entered India and I was convinced about their genuineness, I started to buy online once again.

I can laugh at that situation today, but the incident is still fresh in my memory and flashes back during every purchase. It made me wiser and taught me a valuable lesson for life. As the saying goes - if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

A lesson which I will never forget.