Xiaomi warns of new scam which cheats retailers into buying a fake Mi Store franchise

**Xiaomi's meteoric rise** towards the top of India’s smartphone market is a story to behold. Its success mantra was to offer the best quality hardware at an extremely affordable price and it won’t be a stretch to say that it has worked brilliantly for the company. However, with success, there come those who want to knock you off your pedestal. [caption id=“attachment_4587411” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Xiaomi.[/caption] Manu Jain, Xiaomi India CEO, has alerted the public to a new kind of fraud that is taking place using Xiaomi’s name. In a tweet, Jain said that he has come across “a scam where few retailers have been cheated into buying fake franchises of Xiaomi India Mi Stores!” He also mentioned that he saw forged documents with his fake signature.

FRAUD ALERT! I have come across a scam where few retailers have been cheated into buying fake franchises of @XiaomiIndia Mi Stores!

Shocking to see forged documents, with my fake signatures.

We have filed a case with cyber crime department & police is investigating this matter. pic.twitter.com/AbK6Pvfbei

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) February 12, 2019

Although Jain hasn’t indicated that any of these retailers have been shut down, a case has been filed with the cyber crime department and the case is being actively investigated. He further tweeted out a PSA in which he told people to not fall for this scam and verify by contacting Xiaomi’s local teams Or calling toll-free no: 1800 103 6286.

My request to all retail partners: please do NOT fall for scams!

Anything related to Xiaomi, Mi Stores, products, prices etc.: please verify by contacting our local teams OR calling toll-free no.: 1800 103 6286 OR on https://t.co/pMj1r7lwp8 OR our official social media pages 🙏 https://t.co/tsCsuEnmji

— Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) February 12, 2019

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Apart from that Jain hasn’t mentioned any explicit way in which retailers can detect fake Mi Stores. Let’s just hope retailers become more careful and vigilant about fraudulent schemes.