‘Your FedEx Package Has Been Blocked…Press 1’- Hundreds Of Indians Are Losing Money To This Scam
With the increase in online scams across India, one particular category of scams that has picked up recently is the FedEx courier scam. Bengaluru city police reportedly had registered 335 cyber fraud cases related to the FedEx courier scam in 2023. And what's surprising is that people well-versed with the internet are getting scammed.
The FedEx courier scam starts with an IVR phone call from an unknown number that claims, “Your Fedex Package Has Been Blocked…Press 1”. Anyone who gets lured by the FedEx package and continues with the phone call gets scammed by paying lakhs in the form of “fines”. According to a report by The Indian Express, a 70-year-old journalist in Bengaluru recently fell for this scam and lost ₹1.20 crore.
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What starts as an IVR call quickly translates to a WhatsApp call. The scammers impersonate airport officials and claim that the call is from a so-called FedEx courier office to grab the attention of the victim. The caller then claims that a particular parcel belonging to the victim has been blocked at the airport as the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has found drugs in the package having the name of the victim. In order to make the call legit, the scammers share the victim's Aadhaar card number, address and other personal details. Pretending to forward the call to NCB officials, the scammers threaten the victim by stating that a case has been registered at a nearby police station. Once the scammer hooks the victim, it's all about pressuring them to pay up in the form of bribes and ‘fines'.
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The victims, fearing the repercussions of a police case and how a bogus case could damage their image in society, transfer money to scammers. Once the first payment is made, it is all about harassing and blackmailing the victims further to drain their bank
