Bengaluru police arrest 4 who used Google ads for fake courier service

Bengaluru police caught four persons who ran a hoax courier service firm and used Google ads to pose as booking agents.

Published on: Jul 21, 2022, 15:19:02 IST

By Yamini C S | Edited by Chandrashekar Srinivasan

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Bengaluru police have arrested a gang of four for running a fake courier service company in the city and cheating people of money by asking for advance payments. The miscreants were using Google advertisements to pose as booking agents of reputable courier service firms.

The fake courier service firm used to collect advance payments from unsuspecting customers by posing as booking agents on Google ads. (Image credit: Anoop Shetty/Twitter)

Hindustan Times could not ascertain the identities of the arrested individuals.

Anoop A Shetty, the deputy commissioner (North East) also tweeted a warning to citizens: "North east cybercrime police arrested 4 accused persons for running a courier service scam in Bangalore city. Accused were displaying Google ads with their phone numbers as booking contacts of popular courier companies and receiving advance payments."

"Do not blindly believe whatever is displayed on the top of the Google search. Paid advertisements appear at the top. Be careful while calling customer care number obtained from Google search. Visit official website of the company for customer care/booking contact numbers. Any courier booking taken without tracking ID might be fake," he wrote.

In a similar instance earlier this month, police in Whitefield busted a fake call centre and detained several persons from Gujarat who used internet and phone calls to dupe people, mainly from abroad.

Read: Bengaluru police raid fake call centre; items worth ₹2 crore seized

Police seized items worth ₹2 crore, including 127 desktops, four laptops, 150 headphones, 10 internal hard disks, six iPhones, three luxury cars, two school vans, one tempo traveller and ₹18 lakh in cash.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Yamini C S
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.Read More