Merchants face police scrutiny after falling prey to QR code fraud
Merchants across Hyderabad and beyond are finding themselves trapped in cybercrime investigations after fraudsters use QR code payments with illicit funds. Police, tracing the money trail, freeze business accounts, leaving traders unable to pay salaries or buy stock.
Hyderabad: Is a merchant expected to be aware of the source of money that a customer pays for a purchase and know whether the money is hard-earned or gained from a fraud?
Instances are being reported of businesses unwittingly getting entangled in a cybercrime chain after cyber fraudsters buy their merchandise with ill-gotten money. To their shock, these merchants find their bank accounts frozen by the police who arrive at their accounts following the money trail of cyber crime.
Local or interstate cyber fraudsters or mule account holders, looking to move illicit funds, often approach traders, shopkeepers and mall operators to purchase products. Instead of cash, they do a ‘QR’ code
scan at stores and pay bills with the fraud money. For the recipient merchant, the transaction appears to be genuine. But in reality, the transferred amount is linked to fraudulent activity.
Meanwhile, the police acting on the clues of the fraud and tracing the money trail end up with the bank account of the merchant and promptly freeze it.
The impact of such freezes goes beyond inconvenience as small business owners report being unable to purchase stock, pay salaries, or clear dues. Salaried individuals struggle to access savings, while families dependent on digital payments have been pushed into financial uncertainty.
“There have been several instances we came across in recent times. In one, an alleged mule account holder had purchased liquor with the fraud money through digital transactions. Now, the store owner is facing the brunt as his business account is frozen by authorities,” said D Venkateshwara Rao, President, Telangana Wine Dealers Association.
A senior Cybercrime official said that once a complaint is lodged, a case is booked and money trail is traced, police freeze all associated accounts. However, Rao points out that in many cases, the victim storekeeper is unaware of the reason behind the freeze and ends up with anxiety and confusion.
“How is a merchant expected to know the source of the money source of a shopper?” he questions.
Meanwhile, cybercrime authorities said they are helping citizens in receiving No Objection Certificates (NOCs) that allow banks to lift restrictions and resume normal operations.