Scammers have targeted individuals in two separate incidents, one involving a software engineer and the other a lawyer, resulting in significant financial losses and emotional distress.
In the first case, a 52-year-old software engineer named Kumarasamy Sivakkumar fell victim to a scam orchestrated by individuals impersonating officials from the Delhi Customs and Narcotics Control Bureau. Over the course of several days in March, the fraudsters contacted Sivakkumar, claiming to be from the Customs Department and informing him that an air parcel addressed to him had been seized at the Delhi Airport. They alleged that the parcel contained illicit items, including passports, bank ATM cards, and ecstasy tablets. Posing as officers from the ‘Narcotics Control Bureau,’ they coerced Sivakkumar into downloading Skype and instructed him to pay a sum of money to resolve the purported case.
Trusting the fraudulent claims, Sivakkumar transferred a total of Rs 2.24 crore to the scammers in eight separate transactions using Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS). It was only on April 5 that he realized he had been deceived and subsequently filed a complaint with the Bengaluru North East Cyber Crime Police Station. This incident adds to a growing trend of cybercrimes, with 25 similar cases reported in the same police station, resulting in a collective loss of Rs 4 crore to victims who fell prey to similar tactics employed by scammers.
In another distressing incident, a 29-year-old lawyer residing in Bengaluru was targeted by scammers posing as executives from FedEx. The perpetrators informed the lawyer that a parcel addressed to her had been dispatched to New Delhi and contained passports, credit cards, and synthetic narcotics. Subsequently, they coerced her into posing nude in front of a camera under the guise of conducting a narcotics test. Following this, they demanded Rs 10 lakh from the victim, threatening to release the compromising videos if she failed to comply. Eventually, the lawyer succumbed to their demands and transferred a total of Rs 14.57 lakh to the scammers.
These incidents shed light on the prevalence of cybercrimes and the methods employed by fraudsters to exploit unsuspecting individuals for financial gain. The victims’ experiences serve as a stark reminder of the importance of vigilance and skepticism when dealing with unfamiliar or suspicious requests, particularly in online interactions. Additionally, they underscore the need for robust cybersecurity measures and public awareness campaigns to mitigate the risk of falling victim to such scams in the future.
