25-year old woman loses Rs 10 lakh in a courier scam, here is what happened

Recently, courier scams have increased significantly, and another case has just been reported. A 25-year-old female from Coimbatore lost Rs 10 lakh in a courier fraud, leading the Coimbatore rural cybercrime police to act quickly. Rithika, the victim hailing from Selakarichal, got a call on September 20, 2024, from someone claiming to be a FedEx representative in Mumbai. The caller inaccurately asserted that a suspicious package, utilizing her identity verification, had been seized, supposedly holding drugs and illicit items.

The fraudsters also pressured Rithika into participating in a Skype video call with individuals impersonating cybercrime agents from Mumbai. They succeeded in acquiring her banking information and other credentials, threatening her with an online arrest if she refused to comply. Under duress, Rithika had to send Rs 10 lakh to multiple accounts, thinking the funds were required for verification and would be reimbursed later.

When the anticipated retransfer of funds did not take place, Rithika understood she had been deceived and promptly lodged a complaint via the national cybercrime reporting portal. In response to the complaint, the cybercrime police filed a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Act and the Information Technology Act. A police team, directed by sub-inspector Ananth, monitored the suspects’ bank accounts and froze them.

These accounts were additionally connected to comparable fraud incidents throughout Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Maharashtra. In light of this, a dedicated team, led by sub-inspector Marimuthu, went to South Delhi and apprehended a major suspect, Gopi Kumar, who is 42 years old. He was subsequently transported to Coimbatore under a transit warrant.

The police seized several items from Gopi, including mobile phones, debit cards, SIM cards, laptops, and other digital devices. Authorities believe that Gopi’s associates, who orchestrated the scam, are still at large, and a team is currently stationed in Delhi to apprehend them. For the same matter, investigations are ongoing, and the authorities are expected to bring the entire group responsible for this scam to justice.