Scam guide
The Gift Stuck in Customs Scam: Why You Never Pay the Fee
By the Bakkar team ·
Your new friend lives abroad, and wants to surprise you: a phone, jewellery, a bag of dollars. Then a "courier" or "customs officer" calls: the parcel is held, and you must pay a clearance fee, a tax, a fine. Every payment unlocks another fee.
How to tell
- Customs duty in India is paid through official channels, never to a personal UPI ID or bank account.
- The "courier" contacts you on WhatsApp or a mobile number, not through a tracking site you found yourself.
- The fees keep growing, and there's always a threat: the police, a fine, the gift being destroyed.
Example messages, written by us from reported patterns. Each one has been checked against the rule Bakkar applies to a first message.
I sent you a surprise gift baby, the courier will message you for small customs charges
Bakkar would deliver this
What Bakkar does, and what it can't
This scam lives on trust built over weeks, in perfectly ordinary words, so no automatic check can catch it. What Bakkar can do is give you one tap to report and block from any chat. Use it, and don't pay a fee for a gift you never asked for.
What to do
- Stop replying. You don't owe a scammer an explanation.
- Don't pay. Paying once never ends it; it tells them you will pay again.
- Save the evidence before you block: screenshots of the profile, the chat, any numbers, UPI IDs or links they sent.
- Report and block them on Bakkar from the chat or their profile. See what happens when you report.
- Lost money? Call 1930 at once. The national cybercrime helpline can ask banks to freeze the money while it is still moving, so the first hours matter. Then file the complaint at cybercrime.gov.in.
- Got the call or message on your phone? Report the number on Chakshu (Sanchar Saathi) within 30 days.
- Tell someone you trust. Scams work best on people who feel alone with them. If it's weighing on you, Tele MANAS on 14416 is free and open 24x7.
