Hyderabad cyber scam victims lose ₹5.35 crore in three cases; CP warns against digital fraud arrests

Three people lost ₹5.35 crore to cyber fraudsters in three separate incidents reported in Hyderabad, prompting Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar to warn citizens against digital fraud arrest scams, fraudulent business apps and impersonation attacks.

Mr Sajjanar said cybercriminals were using increasingly sophisticated methods to target people and stressed that public awareness and vigilance were essential to prevent financial loss.

In one of the cases, the company’s accountant transferred ₹2.7 crore after opening an unidentified ZIP file and dealing with fraudulent WhatsApp messages allegedly sent by the company’s CEO. According to the police, the fraud went undetected for almost eight days even as alerts were generated for bank transactions.

In another incident, a 72-year-old woman was allegedly duped of ₹2.12 crore by fraudsters who threatened her with money laundering charges and posed as officials from agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The fraudsters allegedly subjected her to a so-called ‘digital pawn’ for 20 days and forced her to sell her gold.

A doctor who returned to Hyderabad after working abroad lost ₹52.51 million after investing through a fraudulent trading app. Doctors are said to have been lured by Instagram ads promising daily returns of 5 to 20%.

“Even highly educated people can fall victim to cyber fraud if they do not verify claims and exercise poor financial judgement,” Mr Sajjanar said, urging citizens to be wary of unrealistic returns on investment and independently verify messages or calls from people claiming to be senior officials.

He also clarified that “digital arrest” was not recognized under Indian law and that no legitimate investigative agency was demanding money from people online. He urged citizens not to panic if they face arrest or legal action after making phone calls or video calls.

He also asked people to report cyber fraud immediately by calling the National Cybercrime Helpline at 1930 or filing a complaint on the official portal cybercrime.gov.in.

Published – 13 Oct 2026 20:48 IST