Elderly Hyderabad woman loses Rs 35 lakh in cyber fraud faking son’s accident in London

A 61-year-old Hyderabad woman lost Rs 35.23 lakh after a fraudster posing as a London doctor duped her with a fake story of her son’s accident. The victim transferred the money over WhatsApp calls before realising the scam

Hyderabad: A 61-year-old woman from the city became the latest victim of cyber fraud, losing Rs 35.23 lakh in a fake accident and impersonation scam carried out through WhatsApp calls.

According to police, the victim received a call from a man who introduced himself as Dr Steve Rodriguez, a urologist from South Manchester General Hospital in London. The caller falsely claimed that her son, who lives there, had met with a serious accident at London Airport and suffered a severe head injury.

---

The fraudster told her that the hospital could not admit the patient officially due to missing identification documents and that he had illegally admitted her son for emergency treatment.

Trusting his claim, the woman transferred a total of Rs 35.23 lakh in multiple transactions between August 8 and September 18 for her son’s supposed treatment.

“When she demanded photos or proof of her son’s condition, the fraudster refused and deleted all WhatsApp chat history, raising her suspicions. She then realised she had been cheated and lodged a complaint with the cybercrime police,” officials said.

Hyderabad Police urged citizens to remain cautious and verify all distress calls received through WhatsApp or social media, especially those involving relatives abroad.

Victims of cyber fraud can report by dialling 1930 or visiting cybercrime.gov.in. For assistance, citizens can also WhatsApp 8712665171.