Bengaluru Cyber Crime police have busted a 'lucky dip scam' running for the last four years in which tele-callers told victims that they had won branded mobile phones as part of a 'lucky dip'.
The Cyber Crime Division of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested Suhail Khan, a 60-year-old resident of Venkateshpuram in Bengaluru for orchestrating the scam.
According to the Cyber Crime Division, Suhail was collecting mobile phone numbers of people through various means. He had also appointed people as tele callers for making phone calls to residents of Karnataka and its neighboring states. The callers claimed that they have won a lucky dip prize by which they will receive phones made by Lenovo and other brands.
The accused convinced victims by claiming that they had to pay only the postal charges and they would receive a phone and could also gift a phone to a friend.
However, while sending the parcels, the accused packed items like vegetable cutters, juice makers and other kitchen and household items instead of mobile phones. The parcels were packed in a systematic manner and sent to the post office by means of value payable post (VPP). Victims received the parcels by paying VPP charges to the postal department and the amount was later claimed by the accused in Bengaluru.
The scam was being carried out for the last four years under the guise of companies like RK Marketing, SK World and A-One Marketing. Suhail and others accused of the scam would send two kinds of parcels of Rs. 1400 and Rs. 2300.
Cyber crime police led by DySP Raghavendra Hegde and Yashwanth Kumar found the office from where tele-callers used to call the victims. Police also seized mobile phones, laptops and other articles valued at Rs. 26,00,000 from the godown in which Suhail operated.