New scam on the street! Nithin Kamath on how to deal with fraudsters in the name of 'courier companies'

Financial frauds have become a regular phenomenon and are more sophisticated these days with deeper penetration of the internet. And there's a new fraud on the streets in the name of courier companies.

Nithin Kamath, co-founder and CEO of India's leading broker Zerodha, shared an incident on his social media, where one of colleagues was made victim in the name of FedEx.

"There's a new scam in the name of FedEx, Blue Dart, and other courier companies that you need to be aware of," Kamath said, warning users of a new threat.

According to the Zerodha boss, a colleague of his received a call from a person claiming to be from FedEx, demanding money to release the package.

"A colleague got a call from a person claiming to be from FedEx saying that a parcel had been confiscated by the police because drugs were found in it. Since he was expecting a courier from an e-commerce platform, he panicked. He then got a video call from someone claiming to be the police and issued this official-looking letter. They shared the bank details to transfer funds to release the package," Kamath said.

Since the fake police had his Aadhar number, according to Nithin Kamath, the whole narration of the ordeal became more convincing.

This person panicked and transferred the money immediately. If this can happen to a person working in a company that constantly sensitizes about cyber fraud, it can happen to anyone.

Nithin Kamath, who is known for his educational tweets on all things stock markets, said the best thing to do in such a situation is to tell the person to talk to my lawyer.

"In a situation like this, the best thing is to say, I will get my lawyer to speak to you. It doesn't matter even if you don't have a lawyer. Most fraudsters prey on people who panic and react instinctively. Slowing down before reacting is the key," he said.

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