Online fraudsters now targeting shopkeepers in Punjab with fake Army identity scams
Ravinder Singh
Samrala (Punjab), July 13, 2025— In a growing wave of online fraud, shopkeepers in Punjab are now becoming the prime targets of scammers posing as Army personnel, duping them through fake payment confirmations and emotional manipulation.
One such incident took place today in Samrala, where a youth named Kamal Singh, who runs a battery shop on Chandigarh Road, was defrauded of ₹23,400 by a conman pretending to be a soldier.
Kamal received a phone call from a man claiming to be an Army officer in need of a car battery. After agreeing to a price of ₹5,600, the caller sent a fake payment message of ₹3,000 and later claimed that ₹26,000 had been mistakenly transferred instead of ₹2,600.
Panicked and trusting the sender, Kamal transferred ₹23,400 back to the fraudster’s account — only to realise too late that no money had ever actually entered his account. By the time the deception was uncovered, the scammer had disappeared.
In a second attempted scam, another shopkeeper, Rajat Khullar, who runs a stationery store in the city, narrowly avoided being cheated.
He received a call from someone claiming to be from the Samrala Army Canteen, requesting a bulk order of notebooks and pens. The caller shared a forged Army ID via WhatsApp to build trust and confirmed a deal worth ₹5,400.
To gain credibility, the scammer initially transferred ₹100 and then later sent a forged SMS stating that ₹54,000 had been mistakenly transferred instead of ₹5,400 — requesting the excess amount be returned. Fortunately, Rajat checked his account balance and noticed no money had been received, thus avoiding the fraud.
Police and cyber experts have warned local shopkeepers to stay alert, verify all transactions thoroughly, and not fall for identity-based trust scams. Authorities are urging victims to report such incidents immediately to help prevent others from being duped.
The rising cases highlight the urgent need for digital awareness and fraud prevention measures among small business owners in Punjab.