Government cracks down on parcel scam, urges citizens to report suspicious calls on cyber crime website

The Indian government has taken a firm stand against the growing parcel scam by initiating a number of measures meant to stop this fraudulent conduct and safeguard its people.

In India, the issue of fake parcels is becoming more and more prevalent. Many Indians have lost millions and crores in the previous few months as a result of this internet fraud.

The con includes contacting victims over social media and extorting them with phone calls purporting to be digital arrests made by fictitious law enforcement officials.

India Battles Rising Threat of Parcel Scams:

The Department of Telecom (DoT) and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) have teamed together to stop spoof calls coming from outside of India.

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and other law enforcement authorities are frequently impersonated in these calls.

Furthermore, I4C is working with Microsoft to stop scammers from misusing official logos, which is a common method they employ to give the appearance of legitimacy to their false claims.

Highlighting the gravity of the situation Rajesh Kumar CEO of I4C said, “Many cases have come to light in which the caller, claiming to be from the police or law enforcement agencies, asserts a digital arrest and extorts money. The victim is contacted via a normal call from an Indian number, and call spoofing is used to pose as personnel from CBI, RBI, NIA, or banks. Thousands of Skype IDs have been created impersonating Indian agencies. I4C has proactively reported 1,500 Skype IDs to Microsoft.”

The victim is usually called from what looks to be an Indian number at the beginning of the scam.

Scammers use mobile numbers or social media sites like WhatsApp to contact their victims. Through the use of call spoofing technology, the con artists assume the identities of representatives from several law enforcement organisations.

The victims are notified that illicit goods like drugs, forged passports, or other contraband are contained in a package sent under their name. Scammers can assert that a victim’s kin is in jail because they were involved in an accident or crime.

The con artists demand money to settle the made-up lawsuit after threatening the victim and getting them to believe what they are saying.

or the purpose of money extortion, they use a variety of methods, including as ATM withdrawals, actual gold, cryptocurrencies, and international cash transfers.

A “digital arrest,” in which the victim is forced to stay on video talks with the con artists until the money is paid, is even applied to certain victims.

Additionally, the MHA has observed that these frauds frequently include highly organised criminal groups that operate internationally. These syndicates go to considerable pains to appear authentic; they use studios that are outfitted with uniforms and constructed to resemble government buildings and police stations.

You might also be interested in – Bharatpur and Mathura are the new cyber crime hotspots, bypassing Jamtara and Nuh: study