A fake Xiaomi India website has been spotted online which looks like an attempt from scammers to cash in on the COVID-19 lockdown in the country. The website tries to mislead unaware visitors into paying money online for fake/unexisting products presenting itself as an official Mi India Authorized Store.
The website mi-home.in, first spotted by Twitter user @thetymonbay, clearly looks like a lazy attempt at replicating Xiaomi’s official website. Hence, it wouldn’t be hard for people who know Xiaomi’s official portals to easily see this as a scam website. It uses PayTM’s gateway for transactions which means unaware buyers might very well have been duped of their money.
This site https://t.co/9HFfX0J3wP calls itself an authorized partner for selling Mi and Redmi products but the incoherent UI suggests otherwise. @RaghuReddy505 @kasturipaladhi @XiaomiIndia @MiIndiaSupport Can you confirm, please? pic.twitter.com/ZxtdLdJCEYApril 21, 2020
The fake portal has listed popular Xiaomi products such as Redmi Note 9 Pro, Mi A3, POCO X2, and even other ecosystem products such as Mi TVs and other accessories up for order.
Xiaomi officials were quick to spot and take action against the fraudulent website and it has been reported to Cyber Crime Authorities.
“Counterfeited products are not only a big threat to consumer health and safety but also pose a huge risk to consumer’s data security. The products might start malfunctioning and the user might be unaware of the hazards that these kinds of products can cause,” Xiaomi India had said in a statement following the crackdown.
This is not the first time Xiaomi products have been impersonated to scam the unwary public. In the not-so-distant past, fake Xiaomi-branded products worth Rs 13 lakh were seized by government officials from Gaffar Market in New Delhi.
A good way to stay safe from these scams would be to bookmark official brand websites such as Mi.com and Realme.com/in and shop only from these places.
