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Covid frauds: Hyderabad Cybercrime police book six cases

The fraudsters duped three persons on the pretext of providing oxygen concentrators

By Asif Yar Khan

Published Date - 26 May 2021, 12:23 AM

Covid frauds: Hyderabad Cybercrime police book six cases — Representational Image

Hyderabad: Several people in the city have fallen prey to cyber fraudsters during the second wave of the Covid pandemic, with many being cheated in the name of medicines, oxygen concentrators and vaccinations too. The Hyderabad Cybercrime police booked six cases in the last fortnight alone against conmen who are suspected to be operating from other States. The fraudsters duped three persons on the pretext of providing oxygen concentrators.

“The victims had collected mobile phone numbers of oxygen concentrator suppliers from web portals and called them. However, the numbers were of fraudsters who duped them after collecting money through online transfer, promising to supply the concentrators at a competitive price on a priority basis,” said KVM Prasad, ACP (Cybercrime), Hyderabad.

Similarly, three other people including the Chief Executive Officer of a popular shopping mall had lodged a complaint with the police after being duped. Conmen had called up the showroom and told the CEO that they were health professionals associated with the Telangana Health Department. “After convincing them to vaccinate all their 80 employees, the fraudsters asked to transfer Rs 1.1 lakh to a bank account and later switched off the phone,” Prasad said. The two other victims were duped on the pretext of providing medicine and gloves, he added. The Cybercrime police have appealed to the public to thoroughly verify credentials of companies or individuals before transferring money.