About two-thirds of Indian adults (66%) have fallen victim to an online dating/romance scam and victims have lost an average of Rs 7,966, a report said earlier this year. Indians are now targeted by a new type of scam wherein a victim is asked to pay customs dutyto collect expensive gifts sent by their ‘friends’ they met online or ‘matches’ from matrimony websites.The government has now issued a ‘warning’ that users should be wary of such scams.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs has asked the citizens to beware of such fraud.
“Citizens Beware! Don’t fall prey to Fraudulent Calls, Emails, Messages and Social Media Posts claiming to be from Indian Customs and demanding payment of customs duty in personal bank accounts,” it posted on X.

There have been multiple cases in India wherein people got tricked into believing they’re in a romantic relationship or a friendship with someone they met online. They were later duped of large sums of money.
It said that all Indian Customs communication contain a Document Identification Number (DIN), a unique number which can be verified at www.cbic.gov.in.
“Beware of fraudsters extorting money in the name of Indian Customs!,” the ministry of information and broadcasting posted on X.
“Indian Customs never calls or sends SMS for paying Customs Duty in a personal bank account. All communications from Indian Customs contain a DIN which can be verified on the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs website,” it said.
Meanwhile, minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the government has taken several steps towards ensuring an open, safe, trusted and accountable Internet for Indian citizens, keeping in view the emerging challenges of cybercrimes.
‘Facebook friend’ dupes woman of 8 lakh
Earlier this year, a report said that a Kerala woman was duped of Rs 8 lakh by a person who she befriended on Facebook. A 39-year-old woman fell victim to ‘gift scam’ and lost about Rs 8 lakh.
Her ‘friendship’ started with a person who claimed to be her friend from the UK. Over a few weeks, the scammer told her about an expensive gift that he bought for her. The woman resisted but the scammer insisted that she share her postal address.
Soon, she received a call from a person telling her that the package is stuck at customs and she needs to transfer money in a specific account to get the package. She was contacted multiple times and was told to pay different sums of money for the that contained Rs 40 lakh and an iPhone.
Soon she realised that she was conned and when she contacted her ‘Facebook friend’, the person said that he didn’t want to be disturbed.