SHILLONG:
The State police issued an advisory on Monday, cautioning the public about scammers posing as agents from courier services like FedEx. The scam involves phone calls to targeted individuals, falsely claiming that the consignments in their name contain contraband substances.
SP (City) Vivek Syiem stated that the ‘scamsters’ often impersonate Central Law Enforcement Agencies such as Customs, CBI, NCB, etc. They inform the target that their credentials are being used for money laundering and pressure them to transfer large amounts to an account, allegedly for RBI clearance.
To further intimidate their targets, the scammers threaten arrest in most cases. In other instances, victims are instructed to register online complaints through apps like AnyDesk, which may be exploited to defraud them. Syiem advised against downloading apps from unsolicited callers.
The public was urged to verify calls regarding unordered items and report any such incidents to their respective police stations for verification and further action. Reports can also be made to the Cybercrime helpline number 1930 and the Police Control Room in Shillong at 0364-2215427 or 6009196479.
