Kozhikode: A Malayali professor residing in Anantapur fell victim to a cybercrime and lost nearly Rs 1 lakh in a well planned and professionally orchestrated fraud. Dr Rani P L found herself trapped in a web of deceit on October 27 and remains deeply affected by her unfortunate experience, grappling with remorse over her unwitting actions.

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Rani
Dr Rani P L

It all began when Rani, an English professor at the Sathya Sai Institute in Anantapur, received an unexpected phone call claiming to be from FedEx. The caller informed her that her courier had been declined and instructed her to press '1' for further information. Despite not having sent any packages, Rani reluctantly pressed '1' to know the details.

The fake caller told Rani that her parcel (booked for Taiwan) has been flagged due to suspicions of narcotics involvement. They said that Rani's Aadhar card was used to send the consignment and it contained two expired passports, debit card, one laptop, clothes, shoes and drugs. Panicked Rani said she had not sent any parcel anywhere and had not even visited Mumbai at that time. The caller said that since the parcel was booked in her name and her phone number was used, and since it contained suspicious items, an FIR has been registered by FedEx. The ‘FedEx employee’ offered to help her connect to Mumbai cyber crime department, which she accepted.

Upon learning that Rani resided in Anantapur, the scammers insisted that she join a Skype call, promising to connect her to the Mumbai CyberCrime Police. This marked the beginning of a harrowing ordeal for Rani and as her name was implicated in a drug peddling case, immediate action has to be taken to clear her name, they said.

The caller showed documents of Mumbai police and won the confidence of Rani. “He then asked me to read aloud an official-looking document with the Indian Crime Bureau’s letterhead and seal. It said that I am currently being investigated on charges of money laundering and drug trafficking.”

"In reality, I was overcome by fear. It was a harrowing experience, and I found myself entrapped, akin to a hypnotized individual. Since I had committed no wrongdoing, I believed it was imperative to clear my name," she said.

After interrogation for nearly 2 hours, Rani was asked to transfer money from her legal account to RBI so that they could investigate and record that no illegal transactions had taken place. The money would be returned after RBI approval within 10 minutes, she was told.

Rani said that it was a smoothly executed scam. The fraudsters took control of her vulnerability. Whenever she felt something was wrong, they promptly reassured her with well-prepared answers.

At last, Rani transferred Rs 97,000 to the fake account and was asked not to disconnect the call as she would get the amount back within a few minutes. Finally, they said that the money has been reverted and she should check. As Rani was checking her balance, she did not realise that the Skype call got disconnected.

By the time Rani could come back from the ordeal it was too late. She lost Rs 97,000. Looking back, Rani says she ignored several warning signs. Each time she felt something was awry, they effortlessly dealt with assurance and convincing reply. Rani now feels that most fraudsters target individuals who succumb to panic and respond impulsively. She acknowledges that this is precisely where she made her mistake.

On realising that she was duped, Rani rushed to the nearby police station at Anantapur to file a complaint but was redirected to file a complaint with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal. After a two-hour struggle to navigate through technical glitches, she finally submitted her complaint.