[Bonemechanic]

My narrow escape from a cyber fraudster

Today (25/10/23) around 11:30 AM, I received a call from 8210298961. The caller claimed to be from the FedEx courier branch in Mumbai Andheri East. He informed me that there was a consignment to Taiwan in my name that had been seized by Mumbai port customs on October 20th. The consignment allegedly contained illegal items, and their legal team would contact me. He then transferred the call to another person who spoke Malayalam, my mother tongue.

This person introduced himself as Mr. Ankit Nath, a junior legal advisor at FedEx courier. He gave me his employee ID number, RF 5489. Mr. Ankit informed me that a consignment was registered under my name. The recipient name was Zhang Lin, and his contact number was +8862 737890. The tracking ID was 228932129188. He told me that the customs had seized the consignment because it contained:

240 grams of MDMA
5 kilograms of clothes
3 international passports
2 credit cards issued by SBI
He informed me that since it was a narcotic case, they had filed a complaint with the Maharashtra Narcotics department and had given a FIR number, MH1045/0902. The total courier amount was ₹62,125. He told me that he would transfer the call to the Narcotics department and advised me to fully cooperate.

The call was then transferred to another person, who introduced himself as an SI from the Narcotics department. Meanwhile, I asked them if I could record the whole conversation. They said yes, so I started recording.

The SI asked me what the problem was, and I explained. He told me to come to Mumbai as soon as possible or to join a Skype call for interrogation. I told him that I was not a Skype user and that I wanted to download and sign up for it first. He agreed and waited patiently for me to download the app.

After signing in, he told me to search for mumbainarcotic5108@outlook.com. I couldn't find the ID, so I gave him my username and they sent a request to that ID. I started the call, but their face was not showing, only a photo with the Mumbai Narcotics department symbol.

I was very disturbed and did not notice these things at the time. He asked me about the problem again and told me to type the complaint. Once I wrote the complaint, he acknowledged it and sent me a photo of it. Then he told me that he was a team member investigating a money laundering racket. He said that more than 150 doctors, engineers, and other professionals had reported the same issue.

Then he asked me for my Aadhaar card number, which I shared with him. (I regret this now.)During this time, he was very patient and kind. He assured me that he knew I was not a part of the racket. He told me multiple times that only the DCP could save me from this trouble. He asked for my full cooperation.

Once he got the FIR number, he informed me that they had gotten CCTV footage from FedEx and showed me some photos and asked me to identify the person. I told him I didn't know him. The SI told me that the person was a big money laundering agent and had started bank accounts in my name with the help of a bank manager. He said that large sums of money had been deposited into my accounts.

Then he called (what sounded like a wireless device used by the police force) to the National Crime Records Bureau and asked them to check the status of my Aadhaar number. After a few minutes, the person from the Crime Records Bureau told him (I was hearing all of this over the Skype call) that my Aadhaar ID was linked to various money laundering scams.

I was heartbroken and didn't know what to do. I started to cry, but the SI promptly calmed me down and assured me that only the DCP could help me. He asked me about my bank details, and I told him how much money was in my bank balance. He never asked me for my account number.

He told me not to talk to anyone about this. Then he told me to wait for some time and then presented me to the DCP.

Again, something happened. He assured me that if I cooperated fully, everything would be okay. Then the DCP told me to transfer some money to an RBI account to verify my bank account. The RBI would check if any money laundering money had been deposited into my account and would return my money to my account within 15 minutes if everything was okay. They would freeze everything if my account had money from other doubtful accounts.

The DCP told me to open my GPay app and enter the account number 2974002100027277.

The IFSC code was PUBN0146700.
Amount is 99,998.(max amount Gpay can transfer is 1 lac)

At this point, I smelled the trap. The next step was the account holder name. He told me to enter "Delhi RBI."

I told him that there was no such account.

He got curious and started threatening me, saying that this was a narcotics case and that the police would be at my doorstep the next day.

I told him okay, and he disconnected the call. Before I could take a screenshot or forward the files he sent me, everything got deleted.

Eventually, I narrowly escaped this fraudster. I regret that I couldn't understand it from the initial step onwards.

In a narcotics case, the police will never call you beforehand; they will come directly and question you.

I talked to the CI of my police station area, and he told me that there is no way to register a case since no money was lost. He told me to inform my bank administrator to check for any foul play.

I humbly request everyone to be vigilant towards these types of calls. They are very genuine and pose effortlessly.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Shifting Gears section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage tomorrow

A related scam thread (Lost money to a very convincing scam online | Fraudsters posing as Fedex)

[deathwalkr]

Glad you got out of it when you did.

We have other users sharing similar experiences here:
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shift...ing-fedex.html (Lost money to a very convincing scam online | Fraudsters posing as Fedex)

[aadya]

I too got couple of calls with recorded message that a FedEx parcel has been returned and I need to talk to customer care executive to reschedule it. I ignored it as I felt it fishy.

[d.w.w.]

Glad you sensed the fraud and escaped before financial damage was done. The modus operandi of this fraud has become even more convincing since the last post on teambhp.(like showing photos, radio communication etc) They are learning from their mistakes, so we need to be more vigilant.

Originally Posted by Bonemechanic

Then he asked me for my Aadhaar card number, which I shared with him.

Hope only the number was shared and not a soft copy of the card. These days I am sharing only aadhar VID and only if someone specifically asks for unmasked aadhar, I am sharing my real aadhar number and that too if there is no other option. With zero information security laws, I wonder to what extend the soft copy of our ids are misused even when submitted to legitimate organizations.

I made it a habit not to share PAN number with anyone except financial institutions as it can do more damage to your pocket.

[A M]

I also received a similar call from FedEx. Same Taiwan story and once mentioned Thailand by mistake. Same story of forwarding call to crime branch and all. I sensed the fraud and told them it was FedEx's problem since they did not verify the identity of the sender that forged my details for sending that parcel, so if the police lands at my doorstep, FedEx can expect a criminal lawsuit from my end. So better deal with it themselves and not to disturb me anymore. Haven't heard back from anyone after that.

[how_you_doing]

Originally Posted by Bonemechanic

My narrow escape from a cyber fraudster

I humbly request everyone to be vigilant towards these types of calls. They are very genuine and pose effortlessly.

Thanks for sharing. These cybercriminals are getting more sophisticated day by day as now they are targeting to steal larger sums. I guess scamming for Rs 200 on roads with "Hindi aata/ I am new to the city, my stuff got stolen/ need to buy a ticket back to home" etc is not worth the hassle in a growing economy/high inflation.

Their strategy is to make people panic and vulnerable as people stop thinking rationally when they are anxious and nervous. If they find 1 such person every 3 days, that is still a cool 10 lakh per month.

As a thumb rule, I never pay upfront to anyone. Only when I get the product, I will pay. I only meet in public places too.

Here are common scams that I have found online in India

OLX Scams

1. You will get sold stolen mobiles with fake invoices and fake IDs.
2. The person will say he is from the Army and leaving the city. His phone number will be there in the pics (since their ads are often blocked by OLX). The scammer will ask for a 10% upfront payment.
3. The scammer will say he is buying the item and send you the bar code which you have to scan. A lot of people in a hurry or absent-minded, get confused and think will generate a payment request to the other person when in reality, the amount gets deducted from their account.

To avoid these scams

1. Anything that sounds too good to be true, most likely is. These scammers prey on "move fast or you will miss a great bargain"
2. Never send money to anyone who has not delivered the product, work, or service if you don't know the person.
3. Always meet people face to face in public places like CCD
4. Check Truecaller. The scammer's phone number will always have reviews.
5. Avoid dealing with out-of-state phone numbers.

Real estate website scams

1. On Magicbricks/99acres, mostly fake owner-listed properties at 50% market rate. They will say to see the property, you have to pay Rs 2k-5k advance which is refundable.

To avoid these scams

1. Always check Truecaller, if their location is not your state, most likely it is fraud.
2. No genuine person will be listing 3BHK in Bangalore for 30k when others are listed as 70k in the same society.
3. Ask them to meet you at the flat/society. Avoid working with people who are not using local/state SIM. All the scammers I have met who asked for advance refundable deposit were not using Karnataka (my current state) sim. I always mark them as scammers and report the calls to DND.

[dust-n-bones]

Originally Posted by Bonemechanic

Today (25/10/23) around 11:30 AM, I received a call from 8210298961. The caller claimed to be from the FedEx courier branch in Mumbai Andheri East. He informed me that there was a consignment to Taiwan in my name that had been seized by Mumbai port customs on October 20th. The consignment allegedly contained illegal items, and their legal team would contact me.

It is heartening that you smelled the trap in time. However, it is puzzling to me that you believed the premise of the fedex story. Did you really send a consignment to Taiwan?

[ajmat]

I once got a call from a number which identified as originating from Bahrain (could have been spoofed!)

"Hello" with a heavy Haryanvi access

"I am from FedEx, are you comfortable in Hindi or English"

Me: "English"

"This is regarding a parcel"

Me: "I dont think FedEx will be comfortable with your accent"

"click"

[buzzy_boy]

Originally Posted by Bonemechanic

I talked to the CI of my police station area, and he told me that there is no way to register a case since no money was lost. He told me to inform my bank administrator to check for any foul play.

I'm sorry to say that your CI basically sold you, to use a technical term, horse crap.

Impersonating a public servant is a punishable offence under section 170 of the IPC. If this is not a cognizable offence, then I don't know what else is.

If you're so inclined, hire a lawyer to file a complaint. The low lives that tried to cheat you rely on the police apathy to get away with what they're doing with impunity.

[Arun_S]

Originally Posted by how_you_doing

Real estate website scams

1. On Magicbricks/99acres, mostly fake owner-listed properties at 50% market rate. They will say to see the property, you have to pay Rs 2k-5k advance which is refundable.

To avoid these scams
3. Ask them to meet you at the flat/society. Avoid working with people who are not using local/state SIM. All the scammers I have met who asked for advance refundable deposit were not using Karnataka (my current state) sim. I always mark them as scammers and report the calls to DND.

I faced the opposite.

Had listed a property for rent in Nobroker, one guy said he is in Army, his posting is in Chennai Airport(Feeling like Idiot now, should have caught him here itself, as it is taken care by CISF and not Indian Army), newly married he is fine with apartment. He sent some Army details like canteen card and all.

I felt something bad about this, asked my neighbor to speak to him in Telugu, as his ID\education was showing as some place in Andhra Pradesh. He told he can't talk in Telugu which confirmed my suspicion.

He called me and kept on pushing for adding a bank account to transfer advance, saying office will close and it is a holiday the next day. But the next day was Friday and a normal working day.

Cut the call and blocked his number.

When searched these type of calls is happening a lot, transferred from here to there, need to join work immediately, Kids schools is there.

Beware of these fraudsters when you list the property for rent.

[sach.sri]

Originally Posted by Bonemechanic

My narrow escape from a cyber fraudster

I had this 3-4 months back. only in my case the consignment was supposedly SIMs and Credit Cards and the recipient was some Balwinder in Canada.

They even gave the address and stuff and asked me that they can connect me to police directly - and this basically got my suspicion up (also the fact that i had already been at the receiving end of one such scam).

So i told them that i will goto Police myself and disconnected. Immediately called up FedEx customer care (googled the number) and they confirmed that there is nothing like this and the number was not any of theirs

I also went to the local police station and they told me essentially the same thing.

But even if there is a sum of money involved - police does not do anything. I had lodged a complaint for the earlier issue that i mentioned with the cybercell. I had even provided the details of details of the beneficiary account, but they did not do anything. Neither did the bank - i had lodged a complaint with the bank as well, but nothing happened.

Moral of the story - be wary and be very suspicious of any such calls / attempts and however lucrative or scary the situation may be. Best to disconnect and validate with a clear and calm mind.

I faced the opposite.

Had listed a property for rent in Nobroker, one guy said he is in Army, his posting is in Chennai Airport(Feeling like Idiot now, should have caught him here itself, as it is taken care by CISF and not Indian Army), newly married he is fine with apartment. He sent some Army details like canteen card and all.

This is the scam that I mentioned above, only i had listed a fridge and it was on OLX. But the scamster had the same modus operandi and i got duped of 13K :(

[true_sedan]

Glad to hear that the OP got out of it unscathed financially. I cannot stress this enough. 50% of unknown callers are banks offering insurance or loans. Rest are scams. DON'T answer unknown calls. If it's from someone really important then you might get a second call from the same number or a WhatsApp text. Normally scammers call a number only once in a day. If you pick up the call and get threatened. Just pause to think - "Is this real?". If you haven't done anything wrong to warrant such a call then 10/10 its a fake. Those scammers might have your name, address and even aadhar number. In a country where privacy and data security is next to zero, obviously someone has already sold all your data to a scammer. Don't be surprised if some stranger knows it all about you.
Just remember "If you haven't done anything wrong, then there is really nothing to be scared about." Have some confidence in yourself.

[TorqueKnight]

Glad you’re safe and thanks for sharing your experience. Nowadays I am not at all entertaining any messages or calls from unknown numbers. I just block them. If someone from my known circle wants to contact me from any unknown number or from their new number then they would message me with details. My humble advice, don’t entertain unknown numbers

[anjan_c2007]

With reference to the OP, please as a thumb rule never rely on any anonymous helper who under the guise of a do-gooder, volunteers to help you overcome some such grave issues, offering his help. He is from a gang of criminals.

The fact is that none of you know each other personally and the truth is that such "help" can only come by with a hidden agenda.