# Fake customs official, supervisor email dupe IIT researchers of Rs 3.12 lakh 2026-08-22T02:41:09+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Two researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Indore lost a total of Rs 3.12 lakh to separate cyber frauds in August. Simrol police have registered cases under sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the BNS against unidentified suspects and are investigating the digital trails. On August 10, researcher Sangeeta, 33, received a call from someone posing as an airport customs official who claimed she had an international parcel. Trusting the caller because she often receives packages from abroad, she transferred Rs 35,999 as customs charges via PhonePe. The fraudster then demanded more money as endorsement and exchange fees, pressuring her to send funds from her own account, her brother's and a friend's. When asked for another Rs 3.5 lakh, she refused, realising she had been cheated of Rs 2,82,999. She reported the incident to the 1930 national cyber helpline. On August 19, researcher Buddhadev Ghosh from Howrah, West Bengal, received a fake email from officialgroupleader102@gmail.com. The sender pretended to be his project supervisor and asked him to urgently buy Amazon and Steam gift wallet codes. Ghosh bought and sent codes worth Rs 15,000, then another Rs 15,000 after a follow-up request. He later checked the email address and realised it was a scam, having lost Rs 30,000. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Cyber frauds targeting academics at premier institutes are rising as scammers exploit trust in official communications. IIT researchers frequently deal with international parcels and supervisor emails, making them vulnerable. The national cyber helpline (1930) provides a first response, but recovery depends on swift blocking of digital payments. Police in Indore have not yet reported any arrests. The next step for both victims is tracking money trails through bank and payment app records to identify the fraudsters. ## Coverage - freepressjournal.in The article reports both incidents factually, with no editorialising or framing favouring any party. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: 1930 national cyber helpline, cyber fraud, IIT Indore, Simrol police Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/fake-customs-official-supervisor-email-dupe-iit-researchers-of-rs-3-12-lakh/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/fake-customs-official-supervisor-email-dupe-iit-researchers-of-rs-3-12-lakh/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/