Pune woman forced to disrobe on camera, defrauded of Rs 14 lakh by cyber criminals claiming ‘drugs recovery’

They said that a parcel sent by her to Taiwan had been intercepted and in it five expired passports and 950 grams of drugs had been recovered. As she kept denying that she had not sent any parcel, she was called by persons posing as officers of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

The fake NCB officers claimed her bank account was linked to terror activities and that the funds in it will have to be transferred to “government beneficiary” accounts. She was manipulated into transferring Rs 14 lakh into various fraudulent accounts which the callers claimed were government ones. Her ordeal continued further as she was made to sit in front of a camera and forced to disrobe as the fraudsters told her that she needed to show her moles and birthmarks for a police investigation. As the callers kept demanding money, the victim realised she was being cheated and approached the police.

In addition to provisions of the Information Technology Act, the police have also invoked section 354B of the Indian Penal Code which pertains to ‘Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe’.

In the drugs in parcel scams, the victims are contacted by fake international courier service executives claiming drugs had been found in parcels addressed to them. They are told about police involvement and are made to communicate with fake profiles via Skype with people posing as law enforcement personnel. Fraudsters impersonate IPS officers to further deceive victims. They coerce victims into transferring money for various reasons, including customs fees or legal charges, and the fraudsters tell them that their bank accounts are at risk from hackers.

Callers often intimidate victims, claiming they’re under surveillance. Both Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad police have reported dozens of these cyber crime cases since last year.