Fraudsters, pretending to be from a renowned logistics company and law enforcement, attempted to swindle a Mumbai-based female lawyer out of Rs 80 lakh. However, her vigilance prevented any financial loss.
According to the police, the fraudsters contacted the 30-year-old lawyer on Monday, informing her that the package she attempted to send to Iran contained synthetic drug LSD, news agency PTI reported.
Modus operandi of the scam
“They told her that they were from a prominent logistics company and they had discovered the incriminating material in the parcel. They said there was an FIR against her and sought her Aadhaar and PAN card details to shut the case,” a police official told the agency.
They later pretended to transfer the phone to a person, who claimed to be a senior police official investigating the case, he said.
“In order to get out of the trouble, the caller asked the lawyer to deposit a cheque of Rs 80 lakh from her bank account into an account he mentioned,” he said.
To make it look authentic, they sent an agreement copy to her. Under pressure, the lawyer even shared her bank account details with the fraudsters. However, she got sceptical and decided to complain to the police about it, the official said.
She then approached the Bandra police station and reported the matter on Monday. A case was then registered against the accused persons and a probe was launched.
Awareness is important
The Ministry of Finance in August last year alerted people about scams being reported in the name of Indian Customs. It has urged to not fall prey to fraudulent calls, emails, messages and social media posts claiming to be from Indian Customs and demanding payment of customs duty in personal bank accounts.
The ministry then stated that Indian Customs never calls or send SMS for paying Customs Duty in a personal bank account. All communications from Indian Customs contain a Document Identification Number (DIN) which can be verified online on the CBIC website.
Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs is a part of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
(With PTI inputs)
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