Kathmandu: Walk into the Kathmandu Valley Crime Investigation Office in Teku these days and you’ll find a long line of people filing complaints after being cheated by advertisements they saw on social media.
As reports of financial cybercrime rise across Nepal, Clickmandu visited the office to understand who falls victim and how. Within minutes, we met two women who had just arrived to report being scammed the same way.
Case 1: The “cheap wardrobe” that never arrived
Rina Shrestha (46), a Kathmandu resident, needed a new wardrobe. Scrolling through Facebook, she spotted an attractive ad: “Beautiful wardrobe – only Rs 16,000 – delivered to your door.”
She immediately called the number in the ad. A man confirmed the price and said delivery would take one week, but full payment had to be made upfront. Excited by the bargain, Rina scanned the QR code sent on WhatsApp and paid Rs 10,000 as advance.
A week later, the seller demanded the remaining amount before delivery. Becoming suspicious, Rina spoke to friends and family — and realized she had been duped.
Case 2: Discount iPhone that vanished
Sita Yadav (23), a third-year BBS student at Shankar Dev Campus, saw an Instagram ad offering an iPhone 13 Pro Max for just Rs 87,000. She contacted the seller (a young man from Humla) and was told to pay in advance. She transferred Rs 52,000 via QR code.
When she followed up, the seller kept asking for the full amount before shipping the phone. Eventually his number went dead. Sita understood she had lost her money.
Case 3: Fashion lover loses thousands on clothes and shoes
Raj Shakya from Kirtipur regularly buys branded clothes online. He saw an Instagram ad offering jackets, pants, and shoes worth over Rs 22,000 for a very low price. He paid 50 percent upfront, then an extra Rs 6,000, and finally the full amount as demanded.
After receiving the money, the seller stopped responding. Raj realized the glamorous ad was a complete fraud.
Nepal Police say financial crime has gone fully digital. The most common scams now include:
Fake online shopping ads (1,481 victims in the last five years)
“Your parcel is stuck at customs” fraud (1,155 victims)
OTP-sharing scams (490 victims in four years)
Lottery wins, job offers, investment schemes, hacked Facebook/eSewa accounts, and more
Every day, around 50 people visit the Valley Crime Office with online fraud complaints. Victims include doctors, engineers, pilots, army and police personnel, housewives, and students — mostly aged 20–35. Women are falling victim in greater numbers than men.
Psychiatrist Dr Anant Adhikari from Patan Mental Hospital explains that people with anti-social tendencies are weaponizing technology.
“Earlier, criminals robbed or stole in the physical world. Today they do the same in the digital world,” he says. Scammers study social media trends, post irresistible offers, and treat fraud as their full-time business.
Police spokesperson Kajikumar Acharya adds: “These fraudsters use bank accounts of students, labourers, and less-aware individuals. When we catch the account holders, many claim they are victims themselves.”
Even educated and tech-savvy Nepalis are losing millions of rupees to “too-good-to-be-true” ads. Police urge the public:
Never pay full amount upfront for online purchases,
Avoid scanning unknown QR codes,
Verify sellers before transferring money,
Report fraud immediately.
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