Karnataka: Shirva woman duped of Rs 13.99 lakh in fake courier scam

A woman in Shirva was duped of Rs 13,99,700 in a courier scam after fraudsters convinced her that a gift parcel containing foreign currency had arrived in her name from abroad.

In a complaint, the victim said that she was introduced to a man over the phone about a month ago. On February 22, he informed her that he would send a gift courier in her name and even shared a photograph of the parcel on WhatsApp.

On February 23, while the complainant was at work, a woman called her claiming that a courier had arrived in her name from abroad and that she had to pay Rs 49,700 to release it from the airport.

The complainant transferred the money to a bank account in Delhi through her bank account in Udupi. Later, she was told that the parcel contained foreign currency worth 30,000 pounds, which is illegal to send via courier, and was asked to pay an additional Rs 1.89 lakh. Trusting the caller, she transferred the amount. She was then asked to pay Rs 2.5 lakh towards money exchange charges.

The woman was repeatedly asked to transfer money for documentation and other charges between February 23 and 27. In total, she transferred Rs 13,99,700 to various accounts as instructed.

When she later contacted her foreign friend, he told her that he had sent 30,000 pounds in the courier. However, despite transferring the money, the parcel never reached her.

Based on the complaint, a case has been registered at Shirva Police Station under Section 66(D) of the IT Act and Sections 316(2), 318(4) and 3(5) of the BNS.