Online "friend" says they sent you gold or dollars — fake customs officials demand clearance fees
A foreign contact built over weeks on Facebook or WhatsApp announces they've sent an expensive gift. Fake customs officers then call demanding duty, GST, or clearance fees to release the parcel. The gift never exists. A Karnataka woman lost ₹28.95 lakh this way.
Also known as: customs clearance scam, foreign gift parcel fraud, fake customs duty fraud, dollar box scam, Facebook foreign friend customs scam
Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes
Call 1930 now- 1 Call 1930 — the national cyber-crime helpline — right now. The sooner you report, the better the chance of freezing the money before it moves.
- 2 Call your bank to freeze the account and block the card immediately. Use the number printed on your card, never a number from the message or caller.
- 3 File a report at cybercrime.gov.in and keep every message, screenshot, and transaction ID.
What to do right now
- 1 Stop all payments immediately — no legitimate customs process works this way
- 2 Do not travel to any airport to collect a parcel at the scammer's instruction
- 3 Verify: genuine CBIC customs payments go through official channels (ICEGATE), never to personal UPI accounts
- 4 Block the 'online friend' — they are part of the fraud network, not an innocent third party
- 5 Keep all chat records, call logs, and bank transaction receipts as evidence
- 6 Report at https://cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 (national cyber helpline).
Red flags
- ⚠ Online contact you've never met in person volunteers to send expensive gifts — gold, dollars, jewelry, electronics
- ⚠ A 'customs officer' then calls or messages asking for duty, GST, or verification fees to release the package
- ⚠ Indian Customs never contacts the public via phone, WhatsApp, or SMS to collect duty into private accounts
- ⚠ Each payment triggers a new reason for another fee — there are always more charges before the gift arrives
- ⚠ The gift never materialises no matter how much is paid — an infinite fee loop
- ⚠ The online friend and the customs officer may coordinate to add pressure — both are controlled by the same fraud network
Known variants
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Dollar box variant: fraudster posing as a foreign contact (doctor, engineer, or widow with inheritance) claims to be sending a box containing foreign currency and gold. Customs 'officials' intercept and demand ₹30,000–₹2 lakh in clearance fees. Patna man lost ₹40.44 lakh to woman posing as Indonesian contact.
Last seen: 7/11/2026
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Matrimonial site NRI gift variant (I4C advisory July 2026): scammer poses as a wealthy NRI groom or bride on Shaadi.com, Jeevansathi, or BharatMatrimony; after building trust over weeks promises to send an expensive gift (car, jewelry, foreign currency) from abroad; fake customs officers demand ₹1–5 lakh in clearance fees that never end.
Last seen: 7/11/2026
Sources
- Deccan Herald — Karnataka woman loses ₹28.95 lakh to fraudsters posing as customs officials (2026)
- PIB — CBIC campaign against frauds in the name of Indian Customs
- Delhi Police — Facebook Friendship, Custom Charges, Matrimonial Frauds
- The420.in — 'Dollar Gift' Romance Scam: Man Duped of ₹40.44 Lakh by Fraudster Posing as Indonesian Woman
- ExTravelMoney — The Customs Money Transfer Scam in India