Three men from Gujarat held for extorting ₹1.18 crore through courier fraud 

The Cyber Crime Wing of Tamil Nadu Police on Monday arrested three men from Surat, Gujarat, for allegedly extorting ₹1.18 crore from a victim in Chennai in a ‘FedEx courier fraud.’

According to the police, the victim received a call from someone impersonating FedEx customer service, claiming that a parcel in their name contained banned goods. The caller then transferred the victim to someone posing as a Mumbai police officer, who threatened legal action unless the victim transferred money to prove their innocence. Fearing for their safety, the victim ultimately transferred ₹1.18 crore across various bank accounts.

In this regard, a case was registered by the State Cyber Crime Police Station. A special team was formed and arrested beneficiary bank account holder Rameshbhai Badabhi Bhogra, 48, along with agents Paresh Narshibahai, 42, and Beladiya Vivek Damajibhai Vivek, 30, from Surat in Gujarat, who were involved in instigating the opening of the account. They have been sent to judicial custody. The fraud was uncovered when the victim realised they had been deceived, prompting a police investigation that led to the arrest of several individuals involved in facilitating the scam.

In another case, the victim received a call purportedly from the Telecom Regulatory Authority, with the caller posing as a telecom officer. The caller claimed the victim was involved in a money laundering case and instructed them to contact a CBI officer. When the victim reached out to the alleged CBI officer, they were threatened with legal proceedings if they did not transfer money into various bank accounts to prove their innocence. Yet another similar case was also reported. In this regard, a case was registered and swift action was taken, resulting in the retrieval of ₹52.45 lakh in one case and ₹1,70,57,000 in another case respectively, said the Additional Director General of Police, Cyber Crime, Sandeep Mittal.

Published - September 23, 2024 10:27 pm IST