Archive · 22 Aug 2026
Fake Customs Official, Supervisor Email Scams Dupe IIT Researchers
Two researchers at IIT Indore were cheated in different online scams.
One researcher received a call from someone pretending to be a customs officer.
The caller said she had to pay charges for an international package.
She sent ₹2,82,999 before realizing the story was false.
Another researcher received an email that looked like it came from his project supervisor.
The fake supervisor asked him to buy digital gift codes.
He sent codes worth ₹30,000 before discovering the email address was fake.
Police are investigating both cases and tracing the digital evidence.
Two IIT Indore researchers lost a combined ₹3.12 lakh in separate cyber-fraud incidents.
Sangeeta was tricked by a caller posing as a customs official over an alleged international parcel.
She transferred ₹2,82,999 before refusing a further demand for ₹3.5 lakh and reporting the fraud.
Buddhadev Ghosh sent ₹30,000 in Amazon and Steam gift-wallet codes after receiving a fake supervisor email.
Simrol police registered separate cases against unidentified suspects under sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the BNS.
- Who
- IIT Indore researchers Sangeeta and Buddhadev Ghosh were targeted by unidentified fraudsters.
- What
- The researchers lost a combined ₹3.12 lakh in separate impersonation and email scams.
- When
- The incidents occurred on August 10 and August 19.
- Where
- The cases involved researchers living at IIT Simrol, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
- Why
- Fraudsters sought money by falsely claiming to be a customs official and a project supervisor.
- Total loss
- ₹3.12 lakh
- First victim
- Sangeeta, a 33-year-old researcher from Odisha
- First scam
- A fake customs official demanded payments connected to an alleged international parcel
- First loss
- ₹2,82,999
- Second victim
- Buddhadev Ghosh, a researcher from Howrah, West Bengal
- Second loss
- ₹30,000 in Amazon and Steam gift-wallet codes
- Police action
- Simrol police registered separate cases under BNS sections 318(4) and 319(2)