KOCHI: Two unidentified persons impersonating officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) and Mumbai police, swindled Rs 5.93 lakh from a Thevara resident claiming that drugs were recovered from a parcel she sent abroad. Kochi Cyber Police have registered a case and started a probe into the incident.
On July 4, the victim received calls from unknown persons that drugs were recovered from the parcel sent by her. She was told that the courier company has lodged a complaint with NCB and Mumbai police that the parcel sent by her contained drugs.
The caller told her that she will have to face severe legal consequences as a probe has been launched into the seizure. Similarly, she was directed to give a statement in connection with the drug seizure.
“Later, two persons contacted her through Skype posing as officials of NCB and Mumbai police. They introduced themselves as Ram Mohan and D S Swami and showed their ‘official’ ID cards to convince the victim. They also showed a letter claiming that an investigation has been launched against the woman,” a police officer said.
The fraudsters told the victim that her bank transactions have to be scrutinised in connection with the probe. The victim was told that the verification will be conducted online as they cannot come to Kochi.
“As the victim was desperate to prove her innocence, she agreed to follow their directions. They asked her to give her bank account details to them. After getting the account details, the accused transferred Rs 5.93 lakh to various accounts in six transactions,” a police officer said.
It was after losing the money that the victim realised that she was cheated by cyber fraudsters. The next day, she lodged a complaint with the Kochi Cyber Police Station. The case was registered under various sections of the IPC and Information Technology Act. Police officials said a preliminary probe revealed that a cyber fraud group was behind the act.
“This is a new kind of cyber fraud being reported from various parts of the country. Earlier, we came across a couple of cases in which fraudsters pose as airport or customs officials and contact people claiming that gold or cash have been recovered from parcels to their addresses. Later, they take money promising to release the parcel containing gold and cash,” a police official said.
However, what remains a mystery is how fraudsters came to know about parcels sent by the victims. Police suspect that people at the courier companies are leaking such information to fraudsters in return for money.
Police have decided to conduct a detailed probe to identify all the people involved in the scam. Cyber crimes, especially online financial frauds, are rising in Kochi substantially. Fifty-one such cases have been registered at Kochi Cyber police station so far.