Postal tracking scam: Jamshedpur resident loses Rs 62,000, FIR registered

Jamshedpur: A cyber fraud incident involving Rs 62,000 has been reported by Deepanjal Srivastava, a resident of Ashok Tower, Flat No. 501, Old Purulia Road, Mango. The fraudulent withdrawals were made on November 16 from two of his bank accounts—Rs 40,000 from Canara Bank (Khasmahal Karandih branch) and Rs 22,000 from Bank of Baroda (Mango branch).

In his complaint filed at the Cyber Police Station, Deepanjal recounted that he was expecting a book from Varanasi via speed post. When the book did not arrive, he attempted to track it online. “I searched for postal tracking multiple times on the morning of November 16 but received no response. Frustrated, I called a customer care number displayed alongside the postal tracking page,” he stated.

The person who answered claimed to be from the Bistupur Post Office and informed Deepanjal that the book had been held there for three days due to a missing pin code. To verify, Deepanjal was instructed to send his pin code via WhatsApp. Subsequently, the fraudster requested an online payment of ₹2 for verification, insisting it could not be paid in cash.

“When I made the payment through mobile banking, a total of Rs 62,000 was debited from my accounts in one go,” Deepanjal said. Shocked, he immediately blocked his accounts and approached the Cyber Police Station for assistance.

The police have registered an FIR and launched an investigation into the matter. An official from the cyber police stated, “We are probing the incident and tracking the details of the fraudulent transaction. People are advised to be cautious and verify customer care numbers before making any online transactions.”