Hyderabad: A 75-year-old woman lost over Rs 1.9 crore to cyber fraudsters who were impersonating police officers. According to her complaint to Hyderabad cybercrime police, she received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be from the telecom department and said they had information that her husband was involved in human trafficking. To convince her, the fraudster said that they would send a code to a specific number to confirm the allegations.Subsequently, another person called her and asked her what language she would prefer to speak. When she replied Telugu, a man named Gaurav joined the call. He began to intimidate her, claiming to have her Aadhaar details, visa and phone numbers. A few more people then joined the call and began to provide information about her family, assets, and bank balance.As part of the ‘investigation’, the fraudsters asked her to transfer money to help her husband avoid arrest. Over the course of four days, she transferred Rs 1.95 crore earlier this month. She later realised that the callers were cyber fraudsters and she approached the police. The Hyderabad cybercrime police registered a case, and an investigation is ongoing. Across Telangana, the cybercrime police have registered 1,113 cases of digital fraud this year, with victims losing a total of Rs 75 crore.
