BENGALURU: Cyberfraudsters virtually confined a 46-year-old businessman in the city for three days and cheated him of Rs 1.98 crore. The cybercriminals trapped Manish, the businessman, by posing as sleuths from the Mumbai Crime Branch and threatened to arrest him stating that a FedEx courier in his name contained drugs.
The fraudsters, who appeared in uniform during the video call, told Manish that he is under the crime branch’s surveillance, and asked him not to cut the call till they completed the formalities regarding his courier containing drugs. Then, they threatened to arrest him if he did not transfer money to their bank account. The call continued for three days and the fraudsters directed him to transfer money to evade arrest.
After the first payment, the fraudsters told Manish that they were trying to help him out and kept speaking to him till they transferred Rs 1.98 crore, leaving only Rs 500 in his bank account. Manish’s family members, who got to know about these online transactions, advised him to end the video call. It was only then Manish realised that he had fallen victim to cybercrime.
CK Baba, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-East) Division, said, “Cyber fraudsters exploit the victims by claiming that they are from law enforcement agencies. In such cases, people should visit the local police station for verification. Timely reporting is crucial.”
“FedEx does not request personal information through unsolicited phone calls, emails or emails for goods being shipped or held unless requested or initiated by customers. If people receive any suspicious calls or messages, they are advised not to provide their personal information. Instead, they should immediately contact the local law enforcement authorities or report to the Cybercrime Department,” a statement from FedEx said after eight fraudsters were arrested in connection with a courier scam recently. South-East CEN police have registered a case. Further investigations are on.