Posing as delivery agent, scamster tries to trick ex-Miss India; here's what happened
Narrating the episode in a social media post, Shweta said she was confused as to how the caller knew the name and colour of her building, and that she had ordered international products.
Shweta Vijay Nair, former Miss India Earth 2003 (Photo: Instagram @shwetavijaynair)
CHENNAI: Armed with the personal details of a customer, including address, order info, and even the description of her residential building, a scammer posed as a delivery agent tried to trick a woman into paying through a fake QR code.
But the customer, a former Miss India title winner, quickly realised that something was amiss and saved herself from becoming the latest victim of the scam.
Shweta Vijay Nair, former Miss India Earth 2003 and a popular digital content creator, had placed a cash-on-delivery (COD) order on the Tira Beauty app for the first time. The next morning, she got a call from someone claiming to be from Blue Dart courier, saying he was outside her house with the parcel.
The delivery person claimed that Tira had changed its policy and no longer accept COD for such items, asking her to pay via a QR code instead.
Narrating the episode in a social media post, Shweta said she was confused as to how the caller knew the name and colour of her building, and that she had ordered international products.
"At first, I was confused. How did he know my order was international? But when he insisted that I pay before receiving the parcel, alarm bells went off," she noted.
Feeling uneasy, Shweta decided to double-check with the brand. When she contacted Tira Beauty via Instagram, they confirmed it was a scam and warned her not to scan any QR codes or share information with unknown callers.
The response from Tira stated, "We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused. Please be advised that Tira or its partners will never request payments via phone calls or from unverified sender IDs. It is crucial that you do not click on any suspicious links, scan QR codes, or respond to calls or messages from unknown numbers."
Shweta added, "This wasn’t just a random scam, he knew everything about me. I blocked the number, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how my data had leaked so quickly."
Later, after finding that the number had been reported as scam by others, Shweta shared the incident online to warn others, urging people not to trust calls asking for QR payments for online orders.
As her post went viral, several others came forward with similar stories. Some said scammers knew their exact order amount and tried to deceive them with lottery offers or refund promises. Others received fake delivery messages or QR code payment requests.
One of the comments read, "This has happened with me too and unfortunately Tira did not do anything even when I reached out to them over an email. Mine was a prepaid order and the scammers had all my details."
"What in the world 😮 even I received a scam call after placing my order in this last week from @tirabeauty , they had my order details too and the exact amount I paid for the order..the caller mentions that this call is regarding your recent order from tira beauty amounting to Rs..…., they are currently selecting a few lucky winners from each state to attend a event, this whole approach seemed like a scam to me, I replied thank you for the offer, I’m not interested. And this whole scenario that you’ve mentioned is scary 😟 enough (sic)," commented another user.
According to another comment, "I received a call from someone claiming to be a Tira agent and they asked me to use the app while on call and add products worth 5k in the cart to be eligible for a lottery draw prize from Tira. She had my exact address to the T! It was scary (sic)."
Shweta clarified that she did not intend to attack Tira Beauty for the incident. “They've been responsive and promised to investigate. But I hope all brands protect their customer data better. It’s vital in today’s digital age."
Shweta also shared the number to alert others, stating that it had already been flagged multiple times for scam-related activity on platforms like Truecaller. She advised people to block and report the number (096354 35318) immediately if contacted.
How to protect yourself from such scams:
• Never scan QR code for a COD order
• Don’t make payments before receiving the parcel in hand
• Always contact the brand through official channels if something feels suspicious
• Block and report suspicious numbers immediately
• Be careful with your personal details when using new apps
