A 77-year-old woman in Mumbai has lost around Rs 3.8 crores to fraudsters who used to the old ‘parcel scam’, claiming that a parcel bearing her name and bound for Taiwan has been found with multiple passports, MDMA drugs and other documents. As per reports, the fraudsters called the woman over WhatsApp and managed to convince her that her Aadhar number has been used for money laundering and other crimes.
The woman, who lives with her retired husband, initially pleaded that she had not sent any parcel, but was eventually convinced by the fraudsters pretending to be law enforcement officials. Gradually, they made her talk to multiple scammers pretending to be ‘police officers’ over video calls and over a period of a month, made the woman transfer all her money to the bank accounts provided by them.
When the victim did not get her money back, she called her daughter who lived abroad. The daughter then explained to her mother that she was being conned and asked her parents to approach the police. As per reports, the police have frozen the 6 bank accounts where the woman had sent money. Probe is on.
Digital arrest and parcel scams are on the rise all over the country. Even PM Modi had asked the people to stay vigilant and do not fall prey to fraudsters, asserting that law enforcement officials have detailed procedures for any enquiry and they do not make WhatsApp calls.
