HYDERABAD:P Srikanth, a small-time grocer based out of Raghunathpalle in Jangaon district, received a call offering lucky-draw gift a few days ago. All that Srikanth had to do, the caller said, was pay the courier charges of `545. Srikanth was thrilled with the offer, but it did not last long. On opening the parcel that had arrived, Srikanth realised that he had been sent imitation gold ornaments worth a mere `20 or `30. The caller had promised 3 gm gold coin/ornament as gift.
Shocked, Srikanth confronted the courier company who told him that they retained only `45 towards services charges. The rest `500 that Srikanth had paid actually went to the company or caller who had contacted him. Srikanth is one among several people who are being cheated in this manner since time immemorial. The only difference now is that miscreants have a new route -- take advantage of the Cash On Delivery option provided by courier firms to e-commerce companies.
These fraudsters promise lucrative gifts -- like gold, pearls and ornaments -- to gullible customers and ask them to pay `545 as courier charges, when the actual charges are way lesser. With courier firms, they pretend to be e-commerce firms delivering goods under the Cash On Delivery option. Citing growing numbers of such frauds, the postal department stopped bulk booking of 'e-commerce parcels' in the State over the last three months. However, the fraud continues unabated through courier services.
"One woman called me saying I have won a lucky draw and collected all my details. It was only after opening the parcel that I realised I was cheated. They had sent a plastic pearl necklace worth `10 to `20 and I paid `545 as courier charges for that," says S Subash Kumar, a farmer from Nizamabad who also fell for the fraud.
K Venkatesh, service manager of a renowned private courier firm in Balanagar in Hyderabad says the number of parcels he deals with has gone up of late. "In Balanagar alone, 30 to 40 e-commerce parcels used to come daily. Now it has gone up to between 100 and 150 a day." He adds that courier companies are not responsible for what is inside the parcel. "We charge money based on weight of the parcel. We do not check the contents to ascertain what the customer is expecting," he adds.
The primary targets of this scam are people living in rural areas. Speaking to Express, senior superintendent of post office for Hyderabad city division HR Chandrasekarachar shares what they have found out about this scam so far. "We held an inquiry since the postal department was being made the scapegoat. We suspect that these cheats have set up call centres from where they contact people in the rural areas. They claim that they have having a lucky draw to celebrate the opening of a new jewellery story and promise lucrative gifts. Many people seem to be falling victim to it."