Zerodha CEO Nithin Kamath has flagged a new online "scam" where fraudsters are using the brand value of courier companies like FedEx, and Blue Dart to dupe people.
Sharing an incident that happened with one of his colleagues, Mr Kamath said that fraudsters are calling the victim posing themselves as a courier company employee suggesting that a parcel has been confiscated by police because drugs were found in it.
"There's a new scam in the name of FedEx, Blue Dart, and other courier companies that you need to be aware of. A colleague got a call from a person claiming to be from FedEx saying that a parcel had been confiscated by the police because drugs were found in it," Mr Kamath tweeted.
Since he was expecting a courier from an e-commerce platform, he panicked. He then got a video call from someone claiming to be the police and issued this official-looking letter. They shared the bank details to transfer funds to release the package. 2/4 pic.twitter.com/KoiC6hDL19
— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) June 23, 2023
The Zerodha CEO revealed that since the fraudsters had the Aadhaar details of the victim, it came across as a convincing case. The victim ended up transferring the money to shared bank details. He emphasised that if such a scam could happen to a person working in an organisation that is working on sensitising people against online fraud, it could happen to anyone.
"Since the fake police had his AADHAR number, this made the entire ordeal more convincing. This person panicked & transferred the money immediately. If this can happen to a person working in a company that constantly sensitises everyone to cyber fraud, it can happen to anyone," Kamath wrote.
Since the fake police had his AADHAR number, this made the entire ordeal more convincing. This person panicked & transferred the money immediately.
— Nithin Kamath (@Nithin0dha) June 23, 2023
If this can happen to a person working in a company that constantly sensitizes everyone to cyber fraud, it can happen to anyone 3/4
Nithin Kamath followed up with some advice to handle such a situation. "In a situation like this, the best thing is to say, I will get my lawyer to speak to you; it doesn't matter even if you don't have a lawyer. Most fraudsters prey on people who panic and react instinctively. Slowing down before reacting is the key," he added.
This type of scam is going on since months. One of my friends got such call around four months ago and the another friend got the same kind of call two months ago. Everyone needs to be very careful because scamsters build up new stories every time.
— Chander Bhatia (@ChanderBhatia01) June 23, 2023
Soon after Mr Kamath's tweet, people came forward to share their experiences of facing such online fraud attempts.
Something similar happened to me but I put the phone down on them. https://t.co/fxHlbamjPI
— zaayed (@zaayedf) June 23, 2023
"Something similar happened to me but I put the phone down on them," a user wrote.
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