Hyderabad cyber fraud victims lost a combined ₹5.35 crore in three separate incidents, prompting Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar to warn residents against digital arrest scams, fraudulent trading applications and impersonation attacks.
The cases involved a company accountant, a 72-year-old woman and a doctor who had returned to Hyderabad after working abroad, police said. Mr. Sajjanar said cybercriminals were using increasingly sophisticated methods and stressed that public awareness and vigilance were essential to preventing financial losses.
In one case, a company accountant transferred ₹2.7 crore after opening an unidentified ZIP file and responding to fraudulent WhatsApp messages that appeared to have been sent by the company’s chief executive officer. According to the police, the fraud remained undetected for nearly eight days even though bank transaction alerts were being generated.
In another incident, a 72-year-old woman was allegedly cheated of ₹2.12 crore by people who threatened her with money laundering charges and impersonated officials of agencies including the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate. The fraudsters allegedly subjected her to a so-called digital arrest for 20 days and forced her to sell her gold.
A doctor lost ₹52.51 lakh after being lured into investing through a fraudulent trading application. The doctor was allegedly targeted through Instagram advertisements promising daily returns of between 5% and 20%.
“Even highly educated people can fall victim to cyber fraud if they fail to verify claims and exercise poor financial judgement,” Mr. Sajjanar said. He urged residents to independently verify messages and calls from people claiming to be senior officials, and to remain cautious of investment offers promising unrealistic returns.
The Commissioner clarified that digital arrest is not recognised under Indian law and that no legitimate investigative agency demands money from people online. He asked residents not to panic when threatened with arrest or legal action through phone calls or video calls.
Hyderabad police advised people who lose money in cyber fraud to report the incident immediately by calling the national cybercrime helpline at 1930 or by filing a complaint on the official portal, cybercrime.gov.in. The police said prompt reporting can help initiate action on fraudulent transactions.
