Kottayam: A Kerala tea wholesaler narrowly escaped falling victim to an online scam after an attempt to procure 500 kg of tea, purportedly for a military canteen.

Mohammed Ameen, owner of Rainbow Trading Company, which deals in wholesale tea, received a phone call on Friday from a man identifying himself as Kunal Choudhary from the “Army”. He asked about supplying 500 kg of tea and invited Ameen to continue the conversation on WhatsApp to discuss pricing and delivery details. The WhatsApp profile picture displayed an image of Army personnel.

Kunal shared billing details, including a GST number. On verification, it appeared to belong to Army Headquarters. When Ameen asked where the tea should be delivered, Kunal provided the address of an NCC canteen in Parampuzha.

He then said Ameen’s name had to be registered on a military website as an approved vendor before proceeding with the transaction, and promised to send a link to do so. Ameen was asked to transfer ₹100 through the link.

Suspecting fraud, Ameen insisted he would pay directly and would not make any transaction through a link. Shortly afterwards, the link was resent with a request to transfer at least ₹10. Growing suspicious, Ameen contacted the canteen in Parampuzha and realised it was a scam. He later lodged a complaint with the police.