A 62-year-old man from Gandhinagar, Hyderabad lost ₹1.36 million after falling victim to an online scam involving an Amazon customer care impersonation and an OTP-based banking scam. The victim placed an order on Amazon on November 14th and later received a call from an unknown person claiming that the order was canceled due to an incorrect delivery address.
He believed the caller and placed a second order, which again was not delivered. On Nov. 22, he looked up Amazon customer care online and dialed a toll-free number that turned out to be fake. Soon after, he received WhatsApp calls from unidentified numbers where callers posing as Amazon support demanded a ‘verification fee’ of ₹10 and asked him to share the OTP. When he trusted them, he complied, unknowingly giving the fraudsters access to his bank account.
Using the OTP, the suspects made unauthorized transactions worth ₹1,36,890. Realizing it was a scam, he lodged a complaint with the Hyderabad Police Cyber Crime Branch. A case has been registered and the police are looking for the caller.
Authorities warned citizens not to rely on customer care numbers from Google search results and to only use official contacts from apps or websites. People have also been advised to never share OTP, PIN or bank details and disconnect from suspicious calls immediately.
Citizens are advised to report cyber fraud on the 1930 helpline or at www.cybercrime.gov.in and share emergency contacts and links to inform the public about safety.
Published – 27 Nov 2025 20:49 IST
