‘Drugs in parcel frauds’: Victims mentally harassed, emotionally abused on pretext of surveillance by fake cops

In the latest case, registered on Thursday, a 40-year-old management professional was targeted. Initially, suspects posing as courier company staffers said a courier with ‘five passports and 140 grams of MDMA had been sent in this name to Thailand.’

Then pretending to be a Mumbai Cyber Sub Inspector on a video call, a man in uniform coerced him to provide personal information, alleging identity theft and money laundering of USD 6.7 million. A fake CBI officer then instructed him to cut communication with his family and share their details for supposed verification. He was then asked to share details of his family members and even maids claiming they would be verified for their involvement in the money laundering. He was then asked to keep the video call and go sleep in front of the camera ‘so that his movements can be tracked.’

Next morning ‘the CBI officers’ forced him into liquidating his fixed deposits and transferring a total Rs 49.3 lakh to fraudulent accounts under the guise of financial forensics. When the suspects kept asking for money, he realised that he was being cheated and registered a case on cyber helpline. Subsequently, a case was registered in Pune Cyber crime police station.

Senior Inspector Minal Supe Patil from the cyber crime police station of Pune City police said, “We have observed a worrying trend of cyber criminals using various pressure tactics and psychological manipulations to defraud victims. It is very important that people talk to their family members or people they trust, if they experience such scams. Doing this can save many from falling further to these victims.”

In a case registered earlier this month, a 28-year-old woman from Pune was defrauded by cyber criminals for Rs 14 lakh in a drugs-in-parcel scam during which she was told that her account was linked to terrorist activities and was forced to disrobe before camera on the pretext of showing her mole for police identification. Earlier in March, a Pune doctor was asked to isolate himself in a hotel, was made to keep audio calls continuously on for ‘surveillance’ and was manipulated into liquidating investments to transfer the money to ‘government safe accounts’ as he ended up losing over Rs one crore to the cyber criminals amid threats of his identity being stolen and being misused in drug trafficking and money laundering.

In another case earlier this month, a software engineer was told that his phone number is being used for women’s harassment and abuse and under the ‘National Secret Rule’ he was prohibited from discussing the case with anyone. The techie ended up losing Rs 40 lakh to cyber criminals on the pretext of ‘cancellation of arrest warrant’ against him. In another case, an elderly woman in her 60s was told that the Mumbai police were on their way to her home to arrest her.

Senior inspector Patil further said, “The underlying broad method in all these scams is the same where the vulnerabilities and fears of the victims are exploited by the criminals into making them pay money. Only the methods of luring the targets and the pretexts of scamming keep changing. It is very important that police or cyber helplines are approached immediately once victims realise that they are being cheated. We have launched a coordinated probe in these cases.”