Don’t fall prey to ads offering online delivery of alcohol: police

Don’t fall prey to ads offering online delivery of alcohol: police

Fake social media pages, websites doing the rounds

15/05/2020, VIVEK NARAYANAN,CHENNAI

“Tasmac wine shop home delivery. Online payment, phone pay and Google Pay accepted. Good Service Wine” — reads an advertisement on a social media page called Tasmac wine shop, with a phone number provided.

This is one of the many fake Tasmac pages offering 24-hour door delivery of alcohol, that have emerged online, especially after Tasmac shops were closed due to the lockdown.

The police have asked people not to fall prey to such fake advertisements and lose their money.

Sources from Tasmac said a police complaint has been made to take action against people who are running and circulating these sites and pages.

“When someone contacts the number, they ask for 50% of the payment through the online mode and the remaining, they say, can be paid to the delivery agents. However, after the payment, the number will not be reachable,” a police officer said.

Sometimes the conmen ask for the debit card number and OTP and swipe the customer’s bank account clean.

Cyber law experts said that State government that have began online sales of alcohol have to gear up to tackle online frauds as well.

D. Dhanasekaran, general secretary, Tasmac Workers Association, said the government should create awareness among people about the online frauds.

Sources from the Cyber Wing of the city police said that they had received information about such a crime, but were yet to receive a formal complaint.