Short answer: shop only on the official app or website, never share an OTP or approve a UPI request to "receive" money, check the real price history instead of the "% off" badge, and if you lose money online call 1930 straight away.
5 traps that spike during festive sales (as described by Times Life)
1. Lookalike sale websites: fake domains such as "fipkart.com" or "amazon-in-sale.com", often pushed through Google or Instagram ads, with prices 60–70% below the real site. Check the web address letter by letter. The real ones are amazon.in and flipkart.com. A padlock icon only means the connection is encrypted, not that the site is genuine.
2. The fake "refund" UPI request: a caller says there's a problem with your order and asks you to approve a UPI request to get your money back. Approving it sends money out. You never need to enter your UPI PIN to receive money.
3. Too-cheap social media sellers: Instagram or Facebook ads for limited items at impossible prices from new accounts with no real reviews. You pay and nothing arrives.
4. OTP phishing calls: someone posing as customer care, sometimes quoting a real order number, says your account is at risk and asks for an OTP. Hang up. No platform asks for your OTP.
5. Fake delivery texts: an SMS says your parcel is stuck and asks for a small fee through a link that leads to a fake courier page. Track orders only in the app or on the courier's official site.
Amazon's own advice (from its festive-season safety campaign with the government's Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, I4C): Amazon will never ask you to pay by phone or email, buy gift cards, or install software for "support". Pay only inside the official app or website, check orders by opening the app yourself rather than through a link, and avoid public Wi-Fi for payments.
How to spot a fake discount
- Compare the same model on both apps and look at its price over the past few weeks, not just the struck-out MRP.
- Check whether the bank offer has a cap or minimum order value, and whether the "exchange value" depends on a condition check later.
- Read recent reviews, not just the star rating, and check the seller's name and the return window before you pay.
- From 1 January 2027, new consumer rules will require platforms to show the lowest price of the previous 30 days next to any discount. Until then, you have to check it yourself.
If something goes wrong
- Lost money online: call 1930 (the national cybercrime helpline) immediately, then file a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in. Also ask your bank to block the card or UPI ID.
- Refund, return or wrong product: raise it with the platform first and keep screenshots, order IDs and chat records. If it isn't resolved, complain to the National Consumer Helpline (1915).
- Still stuck? Share your case on PetitionFox so the company has to answer in public.
Got caught out by a fake site or a "discount" that wasn't? Tell others below so they don't fall for it.
General information from public sources, not legal advice. If something has changed, say so below and we’ll update it.
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