Using a cliched modus operandi, the accused used to send a mail with Amazon logos(FILE)
The CBI has started an investigation into the alleged defrauding of Amazon customers in the US by two Indian scam artists by planting 'child sexual abuse material' on the computer of unsuspecting customers and demanding money in return to safeguard them from hackers, officials said.
The agency has booked Sachitanand Tiwari and Ayush Tiwari of Subhals IT Solutions on a complaint from Amazon for cheating the customers of the e-commerce giant in the guise of being its customer service agents, the officials said.
Using a cliched modus operandi, the accused used to send a mail with Amazon logos to the customers of the e-retailer in the United States that an expensive parcel is booked for them through their accounts which will be delivered at a given non-existent address in Florida, they said.
These e-mails carried a fake phone number which when called connected the gullible customers to fraudsters based in India impersonating Amazon customer representatives.
The perpetrators falsely informed victims that their Amazon accounts were compromised by hackers and they needed assistance from the fraud department at the e-retailer.
The accused hoodwinked the customers into getting remote access to their computers to demonstrate that their systems were corrupted by viruses and CSAM planted by hackers who were ordering from their Amazon accounts, the CBI said.
The swindlers then offered the customers various fake software solutions to clean their system for which they charged substantial amounts of money through PayPal or gift cards.
The tech giant after being flooded by such complaints contacted one of the numbers on the advice of its lawyers to understand how they functioned following which a complaint was given to the CBI.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)