GUWAHATI, MARCH 14 (MExN): The Deputy Commissioner for Customs, Guwahati and Dimapur division has cautioned that certain unscrupulous elements and “possibly even members of organized crime syndicates” have been duping and cheating ordinary citizens by impersonating as Customs Officers and swindling large sums of money from unsuspecting people.
A press note from the department informed that these criminals have a country wide network and have spread their tentacles deep into the telecom subscriber database and have even found ways to evade checks maintained by the country's banking system. The note stated that, as per information received, cases of people getting duped by such fraudsters have been reported from many states in this region. Already several cases have been reported at Guwahati. Shillong, Kohima and Dimapur, it added.
Explaining the modus operandi of the fraudsters, it informed that they contact unsuspecting individuals, informing them of the arrival of a lucrative consignment from abroad, sent by a person, whom the victim has befriended on the internet. These calls are usually made from unlisted mobile telephone numbers. The victim is then asked to deposit a certain amount of money for clearance of customs duty. For this purpose, the victim is provided with a bank account number, which invariably belongs to a private individual. The note further said that the callers “usually display a sense of urgency and advice people not to delay the payment, as that might result in forfeiture of the package.”
As such, it notified the public that neither the department of customs, nor any of its officers make any unsolicited calls to anybody for deposit of Customs Duty. It further informed that customs duty, if any is always deposited in a government account and can be deposited only in designated banks.
The public have been cautioned and advised to desist from making any such payment in the name of customs duty and that such calls should be made known to the local police station
