Representative image indicating a scam
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Mangaluru: A woman fell victim to a parcel fraud and lost Rs 39.30 lakh. In her complaint, she stated that she received a call on September 23 from someone who introduced herself as Shreya Sharma from the DHL courier office in Mumbai. The caller informed her that there was a parcel in her name that was supposed to be sent to China.
The parcel reportedly contained five passports, one laptop, 400 grams of MDMA, bank documents, and 3.5 kg of clothes. Although the complainant denied sending any parcel, the caller insisted that it contained banned MDMA and threatened that customs officials would arrest her if she failed to cooperate. The caller also stated that the complainant would be summoned for an inquiry the following day and instructed her not to speak to anyone.
On September 24, at 9 am, the complainant received a video call. During the call, she was asked to transfer money to the Development Bank of Singapore, Dindigul Branch, to avoid arrest and prove her innocence. Fearing arrest, the complainant transferred Rs 37 lakh via RTGS.
Later, on September 26, she was informed that an auditor would conduct an inquiry regarding her assets and was asked to transfer an additional Rs 2.30 lakh to an account at HDFC Bank. The fraudsters promised that they would return her money with interest after the inquiry was completed. However, they later stopped calling her.
On September 28, the complainant made several calls and sent messages to the fraudsters but received no response. Realising she had been cheated, she filed a complaint at the Mangaluru East Police Station.