Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In a unique case of cyber fraud, criminals have hacked e-gift voucher codes meant for customers of a private organisation in MP Nagar and redeemed them to purchase gold and silver online, all before the actual winners received the codes.
According to cyber police, this is the first such incident reported in Madhya Pradesh involving the misuse of gift vouchers for high-value metal purchases.
The case surfaced when a local company, as part of a promotional campaign, sent e-gift vouchers via SMS to selected winners. The vouchers, purchased from reputed firms, were intended to be redeemed for gold and silver items.
Shockingly, when the winners tried to use their voucher codes on two trusted platforms, they were told the vouchers had already been redeemed.
Investigations revealed that cybercriminals had accessed the serial codes beforehand and used them to buy gold and silver products online.
Eight vouchers from the MP Nagar-based firm were compromised in this manner. Further inquiry by the issuing company revealed that at least 57 other vouchers had been fraudulently redeemed in similar fashion across various instances.
In one specific case, police traced redemption of seven vouchers to a resident of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, who claimed the benefits illegally on July 15.
Authorities now suspect a wider cybercriminal network could be involved, possibly linked to a data leak or direct hacking of e-commerce databases.
On August 20, an FIR was lodged by the manager of the affected company. Cyber Crime Branch officials have launched a probe to determine whether the data was stolen directly from company servers or leaked and sold to fraudsters. The exact financial impact remains undisclosed.
Cyber gangs go high-tech
Cyber crime officials said that fraud networks are increasingly adopting advanced methods, using crypto wallets, digital mule accounts, and converting stolen money into physical assets like gold, making it difficult to track and recover funds. Officers said this is the first time such a method has been seen in the state.
