In five months, over 1,300 cases of FedEx fraud reported across T.N.

The Greater Chennai City Police have issued an advisory and appealed to the people to be vigilant, following the alarming number of complaints of what has come to be known as ‘FedEx fraud’ in which victims were swindled by cyber fraudsters posing as law enforcement officers.

Since January this year, over 1,336 complaints have been received across the State from victims who lost money ranging from several thousands to crores, said police sources.

Over the past few months, there has been a rise in incidents where elderly persons, especially those living alone, high income individuals, and women are being targeted by unknown callers/ scamsters over phone claiming to be representatives of courier companies, such as FedEx or BlueDart. These callers use the victim’s names and Aadhaar card details, claiming that they had been involved in illegal activities or major crimes, besides threatening them with prosecution if they do not pay up.

The fraudsters posing as Mumbai Cybercrime personnel, CBI or any other local police departments forward these calls to another person and they impersonate as Enforcement Directorate (ED) or Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) officials.

The caller identifies himself as a police officer and instructs the victim to download Skype on their devices. Through this app, the caller initiates a video call and spins a story about how illegal transactions totalling crores of rupees are being carried out using their Aadhaar number. They claim that these transactions involve opening accounts in multiple banks. Specifically, the caller instructs the victim to transfer their savings and fixed deposit amounts from their bank account to an RBI Bank account for verification purposes. The caller also prohibits the victim from contacting anyone and threatens them with dire consequences thereby isolating and digitally arresting the victims. The fraudsters keep the victims constantly under threat until the money is transferred from the victim’s to theirs, said a senior police officer.

The officer said additionally, the fraudsters obtain loans from banks in the victim’s names using their personal and bank details without their knowledge. Furthermore, the suspects delete chat and call history from Skype and erase any evidence of their fraudulent activities. The bank accounts that the victims transfer their funds too are registered under fictitious names to avoid arrest. Given that these criminals operate from foreign countries, it is known to be challenging to identify and apprehend them, the officers added.

The City Police Commissioner, Sandeep Rai Rathore, said the public should exercise extreme caution when communicating with individuals calling from unfamiliar phone numbers. He emphasised the importance of refraining from sharing personal banking and other sensitive information and warned against falling victim to scams involving transferring money to unknown bank accounts or individuals posing as police officers in video calls.

Mr. Rathore said the Cyber Crime Police of the Central Crime Branch has launched a probe to trace the suspects who were involved in the fraud.

Additional Director General of Police, Cyber Crime Wing, Sanjay Kumar said the same modus operandi has been used to scam hundreds of people and some have also been placed under ‘digital arrest’ – an invention of the cyber criminal, where victims were kept confined to their homes and have been relieved of their funds over days.

Police advised the public in case of any suspicious calls or incidence of cyber crime, to immediately call 1930 to seek clarity or to report the case, or to register a complaint in the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).