Hyderabad: In a fresh attempt to dupe people, cyber fraudsters have used Siddipet police commissioner N Swetha’s picture as their Whatsapp display image and attempted to extort money from people.
The fraudsters sent messages from a number (9934941611) asking for an urgent transfer of Rs 30,000. They also said that the money would be returned within an hour.
Following the update, the Siddipet CP urged people to stay alert and avoid responding to messages coming from the said number.
The issue was later reported to the cybercrime wing for further investigation while people have been urged by the CP not to fall into their trap by sending money.
Journalist duped of Rs 49,999
In another case, a senior journalist was duped of Rs 49,999 by cyber fraudsters. The victim Bandi Srinivas Raghuveer, 53, chairman of a news channel, got a phone call from an unknown number.
The caller introduced himself as a bank executive and reasoned that the money was required to link his PAN card to his bank account.
The fraudsters told him his account would be deactivated if he did not do so. Following the conversation, a link was sent to Srinivas’s number.
He clicked on the link, received an OTP and shared it with the caller upon request following which Rs 49,999 were withdrawn from Srinivas’s account immediately.
Subsequently, he registered a complaint with the Panjagutta police who are investigating the case.
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