FedEx says it never asks for personal details in calls, emails after Bengaluru woman loses ₹14 lakh in cyber fraud

Bengaluru: International Courier giant FedEx on Wednesday said it never requests personal information through unsolicited phone calls, mails or email for its shipped goods.

The company's statement came after a 29-year-old woman lawyer from Bengaluru recently lodged a police complaint stating that she was 'digitally arrested' for two days from April 3 to April 5 after she received a call by a person who posed as FedEx executive.

The executive told her the parcel contained five passports, three credit cards and 140 synthetic narcotics (MDMA) sent from Mumbai to Thailand in her name.

The online fraudsters not only swindled her Rs 14.57 lakh but also made her pose nude before camera on the pretext of conducting narcotic tests. Later, they threatened to make her videos public if she did not pay them Rs 10 lakh.

'FedEx does not request personal information through unsolicited phone calls, mail, or email for goods being shipped or held, unless requested or initiated by customers,' it said in a statement.

'If any individual receives any suspicious phone calls or messages, they are advised not to provide their personal information. Instead, they should immediately contact the local law enforcement authorities within the vicinity or report to the cybercrime department of the Government of India,' the courier company said.