Indians are Losing Lakhs in New Fraud: What is Courier Scam and How to Stay Safe | EXPLAINED

Indians are Losing Lakhs in New Fraud: What is Courier Scam and How to Stay Safe | EXPLAINED

A new scam is on the rise this year fraudsters have been duping people of lakhs of rupees while posing as customs officials across metro cities. In this new method, called courier scam, the imposters posing as police officials or NCRB agents contact people accusing them of engaging in illicit activities related to sending and receiving parcels containing drugs or other banned substances.

Then the scamsters convince the victims that they will be contacted by police personnel and the entire racket of money extortion begins to settle the false complaint against the victims. The courier scam has been targeting people between 35 to 50 and there have been hundreds of cases reported to the police this year.

How Does the Scam Work?

Courier scammers claim to be customs officials and contact their targets over the phone. They mention a parcel booked in their name and claim that it contained narcotic drugs or some other banned substances.

Then they would impersonate an official from a police station to talk to them about possible arrest. The victim, who has already been frightened, tries to ‘settle’ the false case by offering money to avoid arrest, which is transferred to the scamsters.

The scammers use psychological tactics during calls to distress the victims and extract personal identification and bank details. They ask the victim to give their Aadhaar and other identification details apart from the bank information, thus duping money from people.

In other cases, it also begins with a missed call. When the person returns the call, it is transferred to an automated voice message informing that they have reached the helpline of a courier company like Fedex or Blue Dart. Then the other person on the phone pretending to be a Mumbai police officer claiming illegal drugs have been found in a parcel sent to their address. The scamster then blackmails the person into making a payment.

A Bengaluru resident was duped recently of Rs 1.52 crore after he fell prey to the courier scam. Debashish Das, 66, received a phone call on November 10 from a person who claimed to be a FedEx employee named Kartikeya.

The employee then informed Das that a case had been registered against him in Mumbai because a courier sent in his name to Taiwan was found to contain six credit cards, expired passports, and even 950g of MDMA drugs.

Das was told to get in touch with the Andheri cybercrime police station in Mumbai on a Skype call. Then a fake police officer, Pradeep Sawant, told him that bank accounts in his name were found to be involved in illegal activity close after which the scamsters managed to get all the victim’s money, including his fixed deposits, worth Rs 1.52 crore transferred to their account.

Courier Scam on Rise

Amid the rise in such cases of courier scam, banks and police have warned people to be aware of such fraud calls.

As many as 250 cases involving fake courier fraud have already been reported in Bengaluru this year, according to The Indian Express. The Bengaluru police has said that the investigation of these cases along with three other types of common cyber fraud Aadhaar Enabled Payment Services fraud, WhatsApp sextortion and online job fraud would be prioritised for investigations.

The Pune city cyber cell has reported seven cases related to ‘courier scam’ in 2023. In Chennai, at least 30 people have been victim of the fraud in past one month.

How to Stay Safe?

• Not providing any One Time Password (OTP), Aadhaar number, bank account information, or any other sensitive data.
• Beware of unknown callers and people impersonating bank, police or any other officials.
• Never call back on unknown or suspicious contacts.
• Rechecking or verifying the caller through official sources before providing any details.
• Avoid clicking on suspicious links received as text or on WhatsApp.
• Don’t act in haste. It’s always better to take your time, gather information and consult with trusted individuals before making any transactions.
• You can report the cybercrime complaint number- 155260 or you can file a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in