Software engineer falls prey to Fake Courier Scam, loses 33 lakh

There has been a concerning increase in fake courier scams across India. Scams like these result in significant financial losses for several individuals. In a recent incident, a Bengaluru techie fell prey to one such scam and ended up losing Rs. 33.24 lakh.

The incident took place on June 29. Reportedly, the 39-year-old software engineer received the fraud phone call. The caller, impersonating an associate from a known courier service, alleged that a package containing illegal contents, dispatched in the name of the engineer, was confiscated by the police. The scammer even connected the engineer with another man via call to seem genuine. This man was now pretending to be a police commissioner from Mumbai. This fake police officer further informed the Bengaluru techie that a case of money laundering had been registered against him.

They also asked the engineer to join a Skype call with the DCP. Believing it to be a genuine call from the law enforcement, the engineer did as he was told. The scammers asked him to transfer funds into multiple accounts in order to initiate the verification process. He was given the assurance that the funds would be refunded to him in due time. To be exact, the engineer transferred a sum of Rs. 33,24,859 to the multiple accounts. When no refunds were done, the Bengaluru techie realized that he had been duped. He immediately lodged a complaint at the South East CEN police station.

In yet another similar incident, the wife of a professor on IIMB fell victim to another such scam and lost Rs. 1,73,830. While investigations on both the cases are still underway, the police department has urged individuals to remain careful of fraudulent calls like these.