Software developer duped of ₹2.5L in courier cybercrime

A 26-year-old software developer in east Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar lost over ₹2.5 lakh in a cybercrime, in which fraudsters posed as police personnel and employees of a transportation and e-commerce company, threatening the victim of making a digital arrest in a drug case he was implicated in.

The Delhi Police on Wednesday said they have already issued public advisories clarifying that scammers are misusing the ambiguity around digital arrests to scam public.

A senior police officer said, “It’s called a FedEx or digital arrest scam, wherein unsuspecting individuals are duped over the phone. The accused pose as FedEx employees or police officers and tell the victims that a package in their name was intercepted with drugs and illegal substances. The victims are then threatened with being arrested. The scared victims are then forced to join a video call with the accused where he/she is in a police uniform and asks them to empty their bank accounts since it is connected to the investigation. The accused take all the money…”

The software developer, who lives with his family in east Delhi’s Ashok Nagar, received a call on April 29 from a person who claimed to be a transportation company employee. The complainant said, “I live with my parents…I received a call around 9am from an unknown number saying they received a parcel which was sent using my name and number. I got scared. The person said the parcel contained clothes, five passports, three credit cards and 200gm MDMA…”

Police said the software developed was then asked to talk to an officer of the Mumbai Police crime branch since his Aadhaar card and private details had been compromised. The accused provided a video call ID to the victim.

“I joined the call and a man dressed in a police uniform started scolding me. He said my bank accounts had been used to get different credit cards and I have been named in multiple cybercrimes. I was scared. This man knew about my Aadhaar card. I thought he was a police officer. He then asked me to verify details and empty my bank accounts to ensure my accounts aren’t misused. I sent all the money to his account…I later realised I was cheated,” the victim said.

Police said they found that the accused showed the victim a parcel containing drugs, cash and passports in his name, which was being delivered to Taipei, Taiwan.

“We are yet to make an arrest in this case. The video call ID is no more active. We have taken the mobile numbers and are investigating the matter. The accused threatened to make a digital arrest from Mumbai and the victim gave them all his money...,” a senior police officer said.

A case was lodged on Saturday under sections of cheating and impersonation, along with criminal conspiracy. Police said they suspect that the accused have been “conspiring” to dupe more people by using “police’s name”.

In southwest Delhi, the police on Wednesday arrested two West Bengal natives for cheating a Munirka-based businessman of ₹44 lakh using the same modus operandi last December. Police said the accused are part of a bigger network.

DCP (southwest) Rohit Meena said, “ The men are involved in digital arrest scams have been named in over 113 complaints. We seized more than ₹4 crore from their accounts.”