Bengaluru, 27 July

If you receive a call from someone claiming to be a Customs official or a CBI officer telling you that you are involved in a human trafficking case, be cautious. These cyber criminals may even send you an arrest warrant with your name, contact information, address, and Aadhaar card details. This new scam tactic aims to terrify you, hold you digitally hostage, and drain your bank account.

Earlier this week, Sabeena (name changed), a corporate employee in the City, shared her experience with Salar News. She received a call at work from someone claiming to be a Customs officer from New Delhi. The caller said they had intercepted a parcel in her name containing fake ATM cards, passports, and MDMA (ecstasy). “He told her the parcel was destined for Malaysia and provided the recipient’s details. I was asked to come to a police station in New Delhi. He told me he was Kailash Chand, Assistant Commissioner of Police. I googled up his name and found him on LinkedIn and he shared his police badge number.

“Sunil Kumar, a supposed head constable of Vasant Gunj police station, then contacted me in a video call. I saw him sitting in a police station in uniform complete with the New Delhi police logo and I could hear the walkie-talkie in the background,’’ Sabeena said.

“I was shivering as this was the first time in my life I had encountered such a situation. He then said Sanjay Singh, an HDFC official, had stolen all my data and created a new account and used it for fraudulent transactions. “

Soon after, a CBI officer named Anil Yadav contacted her, sending copies of an arrest warrant, court order, and her Aadhaar card, claiming she was involved in a serious crime. Yadav said he could help her if she cooperated and warned her not to leave her room. “They asked me to transfer Rs 1.5 lakh to an account for Reserve Bank of India to check whether I am innocent. I transferred Rs 1 lakh through Google Pay and the rest through net banking,’’ she said.

According to police officials at Cybercrime, Economic Offences, Narcotics (CEN)  police stations in the City, this is a FedEx scam in which the victim was cheated of Rs 1.5 lakh. -Salar News