A 70-year-old journalist from Bengaluru fell victim to the FedEx scam and lost Rs 1.20 crore to scammers posing as FedEx courier staff and Narcotics Bureau officials. According to the police, on December 15, 2023, the journalist received a WhatsApp call from an individual claiming to be a 'FedEx courier office' staff member based in Mumbai. The imposter shared the journalist's name and Aadhaar number, alleging that a courier in her name contained 240 grams of MDMA, which is a banned drug.
The scam escalated when the imposter said that the call would be transferred to an alleged NCB officer, citing that there were SBI credit cards in the courier illegally being transported to Taiwan. The victim was then coerced into downloading the Skype app to interact with the 'NCB officer,' who demanded a substantial security deposit to avoid being implicated in a money laundering case.
The journalist succumbed to the pressure and transferred Rs 1,20,36,246 crore to four bank accounts provided by scammers.
Bengaluru East CEN police have registered a case under sections 43 (for damage to computer, computer system, etc), 66(c) (identity theft) and 66(d) (by means of any communication device or computer resource cheats by personation) of Information Technology Act and section 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) based on the journalist’s complaint.
The FedEx courier scam typically involves scammers impersonating airport security officials or enforcement agencies, instilling fear in victims by alleging the discovery of illegal parcels at airports. In most cases, the scammers employ tactics such as sharing victims' Aadhaar numbers and using simulated automated calls and virtual meetings to create a convincing enforcement agency setup.
1930 is national cybercrime helpline. If you fall victim to cyber frauds, you can call this number to report the incident and to get assistance in filing a cyber crime complaint.
Read: Bengaluru residents targeted in elaborate FedEx scam, businessman loses Rs 1.98 crore