An elderly woman in south Calcutta was defrauded on Saturday after she received a package from an app delivery platform. The delivery person claimed the parcel contained sunscreen lotion ordered by her daughter. The woman paid ₹1,500 for the package but later discovered that it was empty.

Another south Calcutta resident recently found a delivery partner from a reputable courier company knocking at his doorstep, claiming there was a parcel ordered by his daughter for which he was supposed to pay.

In both cases, none of the women had booked the parcels.

Several Calcuttans are complaining that they either had to pay for a parcel they did not order or return it, citing non-acceptance.

Police have labelled these fake deliveries as alarming because they involve the breach of the recipient’s name, address, and phone number.

“These could be pranks. But what is alarming is that someone has access to the exact name and postal address of the recipient,” said an officer of the cyber crime cell of Kolkata Police.

The officer added that sometimes fraudulent links are sent to people on their phone numbers, saying that they can track the status of their parcel through the link.

Police advised not to click on such links.

“Just like malicious links that are circulated by fraudsters, prompting people to pay their electricity bills, threatening to disconnect their lines, these parcel tracking links could also be fake. Clicking on these links can lead to mirroring of the mobile screen and sharing of personal data without the knowledge and consent of the person concerned,” said the officer.

Metro came across several other similar instances where the delivery personnel knocked on doorsteps and tried to deliver parcels that were never ordered.

“The delivery man said the parcel had been booked in my name from a reputable e-commerce website. I checked and found that the address was accurate, and so was the spelling of my name. It was cash on delivery, which meant I had to pay money to claim the parcel,” said a homemaker in Garia who received a parcel just before Durga Puja.

The homemaker was confused, assuming it might be one of the products she had ordered online before, and consequently paid ₹700 to obtain the box. Upon opening it, she was surprised to find six small plastic bottles with a cleaner she had never requested, she mentioned.

However, in none of the above cases did the recipients report it to the police.

“Most of these cases are going unreported as the small amount of money is involved. The fraudsters are taking advantage of the fact that victims usually avoid going to the police unless the amount is big,” said an officer of the Kolkata Police.

The only way to remain alert against such deliveries is to cross-check with the app whether the person has actually arranged for any such parcel to be delivered to their home.

“A genuine delivery must be arranged online. Should someone forget after placing an order, the specifics will remain available in the app. If booking details are missing, it would certainly suggest that a fraudster has sent the parcel, which should not be accepted or paid for,” remarked an officer from the Kolkata Police.