New Delhi: The advantages and efficiency brought about by technology and digitalization don’t need to be discussed, but the risks it poses becomes talk of the town these days. Scammers are introducing new ways to ditch people or laymen. You may have gone through such incidents in which scammers pose custom officials and ditch commoners.
What happened this time?
In the latest incident, unknown cybercriminals masquerading as representatives of the Delhi police and Customs Department defrauded a sixty-one-year-old woman. (Also Read: How Much Return Will You Get By Investing In SBI’s FDs? Check Here)
According to the police, the woman received a call from someone claiming to be from the Customs department, telling her that her name had been used to smuggle drugs from Delhi to Cambodia. (Also Read: ICICI Bank Revises Service Charges For Savings Accounts: Check New Rates And Effective Date)
They even gave her Aadhar number to further establish their legitimacy as legitimate Customs officers.
She was then informed by the fraudsters that her bank accounts had also been used for money laundering, and they requested that she deposit Rs 6.56 lakh from her account to have this verified. They assured her that the money would be returned following verification.
The 61-year-old lady, according to the authorities, just makes ends meet with her rent money. She received a video call on April 15 from someone claiming to be from the Customs Department.
The caller informed her that a package containing drugs had been transported from Delhi to Cambodia using her personal information, including her Aadhar card.
To further convince her that the caller was a Customs officer and that her Aadhar card had been used fraudulently, they even provided her with the number of her Aadhar card.
The caller advised the complainant to come to Delhi and file a complaint with the local police after she denied any involvement in drug trafficking, according to a police official.
Shortly after the chat ended, she received a call from a few more unidentified individuals posing as representatives of the Delhi Police Crime Branch.
The officer continued, “They informed her that her bank accounts had been compromised for money laundering and advised her to have the accounts validated by the Reserve Bank of India. The refundable fee for the same was ₹6.56 lakh.
Fearing legal action, the woman went to her home branch in Kandivali and used RTGS to transfer the money to the bank accounts that the accused had provided.
The accused people assisted her with the transfer and kept in constant contact with her until the money was transferred, the officer continued.