Bengaluru police arrest eight involved in ‘FedEx’ fraud

Bengaluru: Bengaluru police have arrested eight people suspected of being involved in 75 cybercrime cases, where crores of rupees were siphoned off.

This marks the first set of arrests related to the infamous ‘FedEx fraud’.

The arrested are Wasim N, 30; Habeeb Ullah M, 35; Nizamuddin, 24; Musharraf Khan, 24; B Nurulla Khan, 53; Mohammad Umar, 44; Syed Ahmed and Syed Hussain.

Four of them are from Davangere and the rest from Bengaluru, North CEN police said.

In the FedEx fraud, the culprits used the name of FedEx, a renowned American multinational in transportation and e-commerce, to orchestrate their scam.

Modus operandi

The modus operandi involved contacting potential victims, posing as either FedEx or customs officials, and falsely claiming that the victims had a parcel with illegal substances.

The scammers would then coerce the victims into transferring money to prevent their accounts from being frozen. After receiving the funds, the fraudsters would vanish without further communication.

Earlier, DH reported that the gang was implicated in two cases filed at the North CEN police station, managing to siphon off nearly Rs 1.52 crore from two victims using the FedEx ruse.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Saidulu Adavath said a dedicated team was formed immediately to investigate. Within 15 days of filing the complaint, the police arrested the gang.

An investigating officer said by scrutinising bank accounts acting as conduits, police traced the bank where the money was withdrawn.

A police statement said one suspect withdrew Rs 9.3 lakh from the RBL Bank in Davangere. The suspects were subsequently identified through CCTV footage.

A statement from the firm said: “FedEx does not request personal information through unsolicited phone calls, mail, or email for goods being shipped or held unless requested or initiated by customers. If any individual receives suspicious phone calls or messages, they are advised not to provide their personal information.”

“Instead, they should immediately contact the local law enforcement authorities within the vicinity or report to the cybercrime department of the Government of India,” the statement further added.

Police seizures

Cash seized: Rs 13.1 lakh
Amount frozen in various accounts: Rs 19 lakh
Seized bank accounts: 148
Seized phones: 11