Meghalaya police has cautioned people against courier scam wherein perpetrators make phone calls claiming to be officials of central law enforcement agencies who have intercepted parcels with contraband material.
Superintendent of Police (City) Vivek Syiem said scammers make fraud calls posing as representatives from FedEx. They deceive individuals by asserting that that consignment(s) in their name contains contraband substances.
He said these scamsters also involve others using the name central law enforcement agencies such as Customs, CBI, NCB, etc who inform that the target’s credentials are being used for money laundering and needs to transfer large amounts to an account which they claim to be for RBI clearance.
Syiem said their modus operandi is to scare their targets and also present the looming threat of arrest in most cases. In certain other cases, they are asked to register online complaints through some apps like any desk etc, which may be used in turn to dupe unsuspecting targets.
The SP has advised citizens not to download Apps from unsolicited callers and to verify if call is received for an unordered item. He also urged people that any such incident should be reported to their respective police station for ascertaining the veracity of it and for further police action.
Such incident can also be reported to Cybercrime helpline number 1930 and also to Police Control Room, Shillong at 0364-2215427 and 6009196479.