Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath Flags New Online Scam Using Courier Companies

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.

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.

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.

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," a user wrote.