Published in personal
Published in personal
Published in personal
July 8, 2024
July 8, 2024
July 8, 2024
TOW I almost got scammed!
TOW I almost got scammed!
TOW I almost got scammed!
a reminder to be safe out there
a reminder to be safe out there
a reminder to be safe out there
One fateful evening…
I got an automated phone call. Unlike most days, I was actually expecting calls from unknown numbers as I had initiated some processes that needed my confirmation.
I heard— " *static* *static*the item you couriered has been returned" or something along these lines.
It was hard to understand but this was all I could make out. The next part was clear to me. The voice said "Press 1 to find out more". I had called customer care enough times hence my reflex was much quicker than my mind.
.
A guy picked up, "Hi this is fedx mumbai, how can I help you?"
I said I hadn't sent any parcels and raised my concern about the return . He asked me my name/ number and put me on hold.
*silence*
He retuned minutes later and explained that the package I had sent to Thailand was returned because it contained illegal items. I was taken-aback. "I didn't send anything at all" I protested. He then goes on to explain that my Aadhar was used to send the courier. The parcel contained the following:
5 kg clothes
2 passports
a couple of credit cards
40mg MDMA
I made a note while he confirmed I hadn't sent the package to Thailand. I denied earnestly, while recollecting the time I had lost my aadhar in an airport about a year ago. A scenario was running through my mind. Someone must have stumbled upon my ID and was now using it to commit fraud, unsuccessfully too.
He said something next that sent a chill down my spine. He was going to connect me to Mumbai cybercrime. All I could think about at that time was my Aadhar and I regretted losing it.
I waited on my feet, anxiously pacing back and forth. A few minutes later, a stern-sounding guy picked up. He sounded authoritative and serious to my ear. He enquired me about the issue. I barely hid my tension as I explained how I had lost my aadhar and was now caught in something shady.
The officer listened to everything I had to say. After I was done, he explained "Ma'am, 10mg MDMA is considered commercial use, but 40mg is illegal use of narcotics. You will need to file an official complaint. This is serious."
This was my last straw. I had more important things to do and here I was about to be enquired. I had lost my composure and couldn't help but think what would happen if I went to jail. I often joked about it but the reality was much different.
Sensing my tension, the officer begins to talk soothingly. He asks if I can come in person. I said no, while wondering if I even had a choice. Moments later, he mentions that I can file a complaint online. I would have to install skype, find "mumbaicypercrime#branchnumber", and get on a call with the officer. He would record my complaint and personally help me get this issue resolved.
There was no way I would get on a skype call with this person I did not know. I mentioned that I needed to talk to my lawyer (pfft, like I can afford one), and that I would have to call him back. He urged me to get on the call right away and If I call again, a different officer might attend instead. This meant I would have to start all over again.
After hearing the officer's nonsense reasons, I cut the call and rushed to my family. To my surprise, as soon as I finished my story, they burst-out laughing.
The News Stories
The "Fedx scam" had apparently hit the headlines a few weeks earlier. This was the hot-topic and many had believed this well-orchestrated fraud. For some callers, the package was said to contain narcotics. For others, it was weapons (yes I got lucky with the former). While I processed this new piece of information, I read about more such incidents. A software engineer in Bangalore had fallen victim to it. He transferred 18 lakhs to the "cybercrime department's" account to get his name cleared. Similarly, another person transferred 1 crore in the same parcel scam. The government issued a warning about the scam and requested the citizens to be safe.
similar incidents were reported on the news-
Within 2 hours, I had experienced what being scammed was like. Naturally, I was still recovering from the shock hours later. I regained my logic and realised how ridiculous it had all been from the very beginning.
How had the fedx guy been able to connect me to cybercrime? Why was there no tracking for the parcel? Where was the OTP i should have received? Why cybercrime if the substance was a narcotic?
I was embarrassed that I believed it. But to be honest, they sounded very real to me. In retrospect, it's a weird but new lesson learnt. I also have a funny story to tell at parties.
All in all, nothing was lost, except for 2 hours of my time :') Beware of scams y'all!
One fateful evening…
I got an automated phone call. Unlike most days, I was actually expecting calls from unknown numbers as I had initiated some processes that needed my confirmation.
I heard— " *static* *static*the item you couriered has been returned" or something along these lines.
It was hard to understand but this was all I could make out. The next part was clear to me. The voice said "Press 1 to find out more". I had called customer care enough times hence my reflex was much quicker than my mind.
.
A guy picked up, "Hi this is fedx mumbai, how can I help you?"
I said I hadn't sent any parcels and raised my concern about the return . He asked me my name/ number and put me on hold.
*silence*
He retuned minutes later and explained that the package I had sent to Thailand was returned because it contained illegal items. I was taken-aback. "I didn't send anything at all" I protested. He then goes on to explain that my Aadhar was used to send the courier. The parcel contained the following:
5 kg clothes
2 passports
a couple of credit cards
40mg MDMA
I made a note while he confirmed I hadn't sent the package to Thailand. I denied earnestly, while recollecting the time I had lost my aadhar in an airport about a year ago. A scenario was running through my mind. Someone must have stumbled upon my ID and was now using it to commit fraud, unsuccessfully too.
He said something next that sent a chill down my spine. He was going to connect me to Mumbai cybercrime. All I could think about at that time was my Aadhar and I regretted losing it.
I waited on my feet, anxiously pacing back and forth. A few minutes later, a stern-sounding guy picked up. He sounded authoritative and serious to my ear. He enquired me about the issue. I barely hid my tension as I explained how I had lost my aadhar and was now caught in something shady.
The officer listened to everything I had to say. After I was done, he explained "Ma'am, 10mg MDMA is considered commercial use, but 40mg is illegal use of narcotics. You will need to file an official complaint. This is serious."
This was my last straw. I had more important things to do and here I was about to be enquired. I had lost my composure and couldn't help but think what would happen if I went to jail. I often joked about it but the reality was much different.
Sensing my tension, the officer begins to talk soothingly. He asks if I can come in person. I said no, while wondering if I even had a choice. Moments later, he mentions that I can file a complaint online. I would have to install skype, find "mumbaicypercrime#branchnumber", and get on a call with the officer. He would record my complaint and personally help me get this issue resolved.
There was no way I would get on a skype call with this person I did not know. I mentioned that I needed to talk to my lawyer (pfft, like I can afford one), and that I would have to call him back. He urged me to get on the call right away and If I call again, a different officer might attend instead. This meant I would have to start all over again.
After hearing the officer's nonsense reasons, I cut the call and rushed to my family. To my surprise, as soon as I finished my story, they burst-out laughing.
The News Stories
The "Fedx scam" had apparently hit the headlines a few weeks earlier. This was the hot-topic and many had believed this well-orchestrated fraud. For some callers, the package was said to contain narcotics. For others, it was weapons (yes I got lucky with the former). While I processed this new piece of information, I read about more such incidents. A software engineer in Bangalore had fallen victim to it. He transferred 18 lakhs to the "cybercrime department's" account to get his name cleared. Similarly, another person transferred 1 crore in the same parcel scam. The government issued a warning about the scam and requested the citizens to be safe.
similar incidents were reported on the news-
Within 2 hours, I had experienced what being scammed was like. Naturally, I was still recovering from the shock hours later. I regained my logic and realised how ridiculous it had all been from the very beginning.
How had the fedx guy been able to connect me to cybercrime? Why was there no tracking for the parcel? Where was the OTP i should have received? Why cybercrime if the substance was a narcotic?
I was embarrassed that I believed it. But to be honest, they sounded very real to me. In retrospect, it's a weird but new lesson learnt. I also have a funny story to tell at parties.
All in all, nothing was lost, except for 2 hours of my time :') Beware of scams y'all!
One fateful evening…
I got an automated phone call. Unlike most days, I was actually expecting calls from unknown numbers as I had initiated some processes that needed my confirmation.
I heard— " *static* *static*the item you couriered has been returned" or something along these lines.
It was hard to understand but this was all I could make out. The next part was clear to me. The voice said "Press 1 to find out more". I had called customer care enough times hence my reflex was much quicker than my mind.
.
A guy picked up, "Hi this is fedx mumbai, how can I help you?"
I said I hadn't sent any parcels and raised my concern about the return . He asked me my name/ number and put me on hold.
*silence*
He retuned minutes later and explained that the package I had sent to Thailand was returned because it contained illegal items. I was taken-aback. "I didn't send anything at all" I protested. He then goes on to explain that my Aadhar was used to send the courier. The parcel contained the following:
5 kg clothes
2 passports
a couple of credit cards
40mg MDMA
I made a note while he confirmed I hadn't sent the package to Thailand. I denied earnestly, while recollecting the time I had lost my aadhar in an airport about a year ago. A scenario was running through my mind. Someone must have stumbled upon my ID and was now using it to commit fraud, unsuccessfully too.
He said something next that sent a chill down my spine. He was going to connect me to Mumbai cybercrime. All I could think about at that time was my Aadhar and I regretted losing it.
I waited on my feet, anxiously pacing back and forth. A few minutes later, a stern-sounding guy picked up. He sounded authoritative and serious to my ear. He enquired me about the issue. I barely hid my tension as I explained how I had lost my aadhar and was now caught in something shady.
The officer listened to everything I had to say. After I was done, he explained "Ma'am, 10mg MDMA is considered commercial use, but 40mg is illegal use of narcotics. You will need to file an official complaint. This is serious."
This was my last straw. I had more important things to do and here I was about to be enquired. I had lost my composure and couldn't help but think what would happen if I went to jail. I often joked about it but the reality was much different.
Sensing my tension, the officer begins to talk soothingly. He asks if I can come in person. I said no, while wondering if I even had a choice. Moments later, he mentions that I can file a complaint online. I would have to install skype, find "mumbaicypercrime#branchnumber", and get on a call with the officer. He would record my complaint and personally help me get this issue resolved.
There was no way I would get on a skype call with this person I did not know. I mentioned that I needed to talk to my lawyer (pfft, like I can afford one), and that I would have to call him back. He urged me to get on the call right away and If I call again, a different officer might attend instead. This meant I would have to start all over again.
After hearing the officer's nonsense reasons, I cut the call and rushed to my family. To my surprise, as soon as I finished my story, they burst-out laughing.
The News Stories
The "Fedx scam" had apparently hit the headlines a few weeks earlier. This was the hot-topic and many had believed this well-orchestrated fraud. For some callers, the package was said to contain narcotics. For others, it was weapons (yes I got lucky with the former). While I processed this new piece of information, I read about more such incidents. A software engineer in Bangalore had fallen victim to it. He transferred 18 lakhs to the "cybercrime department's" account to get his name cleared. Similarly, another person transferred 1 crore in the same parcel scam. The government issued a warning about the scam and requested the citizens to be safe.
similar incidents were reported on the news-
Within 2 hours, I had experienced what being scammed was like. Naturally, I was still recovering from the shock hours later. I regained my logic and realised how ridiculous it had all been from the very beginning.
How had the fedx guy been able to connect me to cybercrime? Why was there no tracking for the parcel? Where was the OTP i should have received? Why cybercrime if the substance was a narcotic?
I was embarrassed that I believed it. But to be honest, they sounded very real to me. In retrospect, it's a weird but new lesson learnt. I also have a funny story to tell at parties.
All in all, nothing was lost, except for 2 hours of my time :') Beware of scams y'all!
