Geo-spoofing: Fraudsters steal Rs 90 lakh from logistics startup using geo-spoofing | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: Fraudsters allegedly exploited vulnerabilities in an app-based logistics and technology-based transportation startup, using a sophisticated combination of geo spoofing And false orders posted by fictitious identities, and cheated it of Rs 90 lakh.
The company at the receiving end was Bengaluru-based Porter, and those who perpetrated it fraud were four of our own drivers. The fraud was carried out for eight months until it was discovered in July.
Following a complaint filed by SmartShift Logistics Solutions Private Limited, which operates Porter, the South East CEN Crime police recently arrested drivers Shreyas TL, 29, of Hassan district; Kaushik KS, 26, from KG Nagar in Bengaluru; Ranganath PR, 26, from Mandya; and Anand Kumar, 30, from Maddur.
The scam came to light after an internal investigation into intra-city logistics revealed the fraudulent scheme involving fake customer orders/driver identities and geospoofing (the spoofing of someone’s location in digital space by changing the GPS or IP address ).
Police said Kaushik, who previously worked with taxi aggregators, became curious about online refund of payments when trips were cancelled. He, along with Shreyas and others, decided to manipulate the system to siphon off money.
Decoding the scam
1. Create fake IDs
The suspects first created multiple fake customer IDs. Using it, they placed orders late at night, often for long-distance journeys. They also created fake driver accounts using forged KYC (Know Your Customer) documents. Using geospoofing, the fake drivers accepted and completed these non-existent and fraudulent orders within minutes, without actually making the trip. The long distance hikes were completed within 5-10 minutes!
2. Wallet transactions
Once the fake ride was completed, the money was deducted from the non-existent customer’s wallet and credited to the fake driver’s account. The driver would immediately deposit the money (up to Rs 2,000 per day) into his bank accounts. After several such transactions, the fake customer filed a complaint with the company, claiming that the trip was not completed properly.
3. Refund arrangement
Then, the company’s customer service team would refund the money to the fake customer’s wallet. This would allow both the fake driver and the customer to receive money at the company’s expense.
4. Endless loop
This process created a cycle of false orders, refunds and withdrawals. Fake customers would use the refunded balance to generate more fake orders, repeatedly abusing the system. There were a total of 4,000 such orders, causing a loss of Rs 90 lakh.