In a boost to Snapdeal, the e-commerce marketplace has secured a Delhi High Court order directing Twitter to take down nearly 1,200 fraudulent links from the social media site.
This comes after Snapdeal filed a petition seeking action on scamsters, who were misusing Snapdeal's name to run fraudulent schemes. The fraudulent offers were extended through Twitter.
There were several scamsters, which Snapdeal claims had no association with it, which had established URLs/links accessible through Twitter.
Scamsters used Twitter handles that were made to look like Snapdeal’s to display certain telephone numbers claiming them to be that of Snapdeal’s customer care service. “These (handles) were in violation of the copyright and registered trademarks of Snapdeal,” the company said in a statement.
Snapdeal claims that several unsuspecting individuals called these numbers were then enticed with rewards such as cars and other such offers and were being asked to make deposits in accounts controlled by these scamsters in order to claim such rewards.
Submitting in its petition that such misrepresentation is fraudulent and intended to deceive the unsuspecting general public into believing that they are dealing with the Snapdeal company, Snapdeal sought an order directing Twitter to block access to the enumerated URLs/links.
In the suit, Snapdeal has also impleaded various unidentified defendants who are the owners of the aforesaid URLs/links.
This order comes after the HC directed the freezing of nearly 500 bank accounts used by scamsters to receive funds in December 2018.
The order also directed GoDaddy.com LLC, Endurance Domain Technology LLP, Wild West Domain LLC etc, to suspend infringing domain names used by scamsters.
Snapdeal reportedly tracked, collated and provided details and proof, including websites, telecom and banking channels used in recordings of fraud calls, details of bank transfers, etc.
"Cyber frauds being perpetrated by groups of organized criminals by misusing names of leading companies is a serious industry problem. We are committed to fighting it through various means, including seeking judicial redress, educating users and collaborating with law enforcement authorities,” a Snapdeal Spokesperson said.
Cyber crimes in India have been on the rise, especially with mobile banking and digital payment apps gaining popularity.
Another widely prevalent scam is to entice users into sharing sensitive financial information like credit card details, KYC information and OTPs, leading to funds being siphoned off from bank accounts and credit /debit cards.
Law enforcement authorities in various jurisdictions have been issuing advisories warning users to be aware of such scams.