FedEx courier scam: Hyd man loses Rs 30 lakhs; Sajjanar warns against anonymous callers

Hyderabad: “Hello.. We are talking from the Mumbai Crime Branch. A parcel has been booked with FedEx under your name. It contains fake passports and drugs. Moreover, you have joint accounts with terrorist mastermind Mohammed in several banks. You are stuck in a serious case.” This is what cybercriminals are saying in the phone calls they make to terrorise people in the name of fake police.

A PhD scholar from IIT Hyderabad lost 30 lakhs to cybercrime. The parcel, the drugs and the bank transactions are made up to make the fake urgency real.

Callers claimed life threat to victim from ‘terrorist sleeper cells’

“I received an anonymous call claiming to be from FedEx informing about a parcel booked under my ID and name and containing passports and narcotic drugs was seized. The call was forwarded to the Mumbai crime branch to raise an online complaint. The fraudsters, posing as Mumbai cybercrime police, told me that I have suspicious joint accounts in the HDFC and the ICICI banks linked to terrorist mastermind they named Mohammed,” the victim said.

The victim further said that a person named Nawab Malik booked a case under money laundering. They provided me with fake FIRs, and police IDs and virtually house-arrested me for six days alone in my home, in the name of police protection, citing a risk of death to my parents, wife and three-year-old son from terrorist sleeper cells. They informed me that my phone and laptop were hacked by a terrorist group and asked me to keep the issue confidential.

“Then they made me pool all our family savings into my SBI account and convinced me to transfer to a PNB account in Mumbai citing RBI financial verification. They said they would give back my money if nothing illegal was found. After I transferred, they ghosted me. Realising the fraud, I immediately approached the Cyberabad cybercrime department and registered a complaint. I lost Rs 30 lakhs worth of my family's hard-earned savings in a moment,” the victim said.

“People with advanced education should be vigilant against such crimes. It is painful to be exposed to fraud. If you receive phone calls from unknown persons in the name of drug parcels, do not respond to IVR calls. Do not give them any personal details. Don’t transfer money for fear of a drug case or threat of links with terrorists. If you have been scammed, call the cybercrime helpline number 1930 immediately. Or contact the local police station and file a complaint,” TSRTC MD VC Sajjanar said.