FedEx Courier Scam: Delhi Doctor loses Rs 5 lakh to fraudsters

New Delhi: In yet another incident of the FedEx courier scam, a woman doctor in Delhi was duped of Rs 5 lakh by fraudsters who posed as FedEx personnel and Mumbai Police cyber crime officers. 

According to the police, the doctor lost the money in a fake drug parcel scam orchestrated by the fraudsters who coerced and manipulated her into transferring the amount to their account. 

Although the police have registered an FIR against the unidentified fraudsters under Section 420 in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) which deals with Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, no arrests have been made so far. 

Also read- Pune Doctor Duped By Fraudsters In Drug Parcel Scam, Loses Rs 1 Crore

In her complaint, the 35-year-old doctor, a resident of south Delhi’s Chhatarpur said that she was forced to transfer the money as the fraudsters observed her every move in a three-hour video call on Skype.   

The incident occurred on April 6 when the doctor received a call about a seizure of a parcel from abroad. The suspect informed her that the customs officials at Mumbai airport seized a parcel in her name that contained five illegal passports, three credit cards, 5 kg of clothes and 200 gm of MDMA drugs.

After she refused the claims of the suspect, she was connected to another call with another suspect posed as an inspector in the Mumbai cyber cell who claimed that they had details of her documents along with multiple bank accounts under her name.

“I was connected to a man who posed as an inspector in the Mumbai cyber cell. The officer had my Aadhaar card number and said my name was being used to create multiple bank accounts in Mumbai, Goa, and Bengaluru. He said that there are three money laundering and a drugs case registered against my name,” she told HT.

“The man on the call said he was DCP Bal Singh Thakur from Mumbai Police. He said that a criminal who’s involved in drugs and money laundering cases had accessed my details and made all those accounts. He sent me two official letters saying that I would have to empty 98% of my bank balance as police need to check the money and its source,” she added.

Consequently, the doctor sat for three hours with the suspects on a video call under the pretext of verification. After the officer said that she had no other option but to provide the money, the doctor agreed and followed the instructions accordingly. 

Being unable to disconnect or pause the video call, the doctor was forced to transfer Rs 5.10 lakhs to a bank account in Mumbai. However, she was promised that she would receive the money back in 15 minutes, but never received it. 

Realising that she fell victim to cyber criminals, she approached the police and filed a complaint on the same day. 

“They threatened that they have my address and (can) pick (me) up from (my) house and that I am named in a money laundering case and narcotics case. He said what happened with Shah Rukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan can happen to me too or worse..." she said in her complaint. 

The doctor in Delhi has become the most recent target of the "FedEx scam," as reported by the Delhi Police. It is believed that the doctor was victimized by the same scammers who previously targeted a lawyer in Bengaluru last week, causing her to lose over ₹15 lakh and coercing her to strip during a video call for a fake narcotics test.

Also read- Hyderabad: Man Poses As Doctor On Matrimonial Website Dupes Woman Of Rs 6 Lakh