Football World Cup dream turned into nightmare for Hyderabad B. Tech graduate duped in visa scam for Rs 5,000

General view of Toronto Stadium with FIFA logo during FIFA World Cup 2026. | Photo credit: FRANCOIS NEL

For 25-year-old Prasanth Varma Kottapalli, the FIFA World Cup was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime.

A B. Tech graduate and football enthusiast from KPHB Colony, Mr. Prasanth and his two friends spent months talking about traveling to Canada to watch the world’s biggest sporting spectacle from the stands rather than on a television screen.

Like countless fans planning international trips around the FIFA World Cup, Mr. Prasanth turned to the Internet.

He started looking online for match tickets, travel arrangements and help with visas. Amid the flood of advertisements and websites, he came across a company called Envitech Solutions and Technologies Pvt. Ltd., which claimed it could facilitate visas and help travelers heading to the tournament.

Seeing an opportunity to streamline the process, Mr. Prasanth submitted a query.

Soon after, he received a call from a person claiming to represent the company. According to investigators, the interviews appeared professional and convincing. The caller assured him that the company would handle the visa process and help complete the necessary formalities required for the trip.

Excited at the prospect of finally seeing the FIFA World Cup live, Mr. Prasanth and his friends started paying for visa processing and related fees through cash deposits, UPI transactions and credit card payments.

To make the process appear legitimate, the accused provided a “passport collection letter”.

A few weeks later, Mr. Prasanth was increasingly eager to know the status of his visa application. Following the scammer’s advice and holding the letter in hand, Mr. Prasanth approached the embassy in the Financial District to ask for an update.

Officials informed him that the document he received was not genuine. Further verification revealed that no application had ever been made to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in his name.

The visa process he believed to be in place did not exist. By then, Mr. Prasanth had lost ₹5,03,829.

Based on his complaint, the cyber department of the Cyberabad police has registered a case and is working to identify the accused, trace the diverted funds and collect digital evidence.

“The modus operandi remains largely the same, but fraudsters are cleverly adapting their approach according to ongoing events. We have seen several fake ticket scams during the IPL season. Now, with the FIFA World Cup, fraudsters are targeting football fans who are eager to travel abroad to watch the matches,” said Cyberabad DCP T. Sai Manohar.

The FIFA madness is hard to miss in Hyderabad. Across Raidurgam, Jubilee Hills and Gachibowli, metro pillars and flyovers have been transformed into giant football canvases with murals of players in action and vibrant tournament-themed artwork, bringing the World Cup vibe to the city streets.

In fact, interest has grown across India. Searches related to FIFA, match tickets and tournament travel soared, with several keywords seeing more than a tenfold increase in interest, according to Google Trends.

The officer urged citizens to be careful when booking flights, travel packages or visa services online and to check the credentials of agencies and consultants before making payments.

Published – 17 Jun 2026 19:08 IST