Hyderabad bizman loses Rs 2 lakh to fraudster posing as son-in-law

Hyderabad: A 62-year-old businessman from SR Nagar lost Rs 1.9 lakh after fraudsters posing as his Ireland-based son-in-law, convinced him to transfer the amount for personal use. Upon his complaint, a case was registered at Hyderabad Cyber Crime police station on Tuesday.

In his complainant to Hyderabad Cyber Crime sleuths, the victim stated that he received a call on July 18 from an Indian mobile number – 93***87***. “The caller, sounded like my son-in-law who works in the Ireland. When I inquired about the local phone number, he claimed to have enabled international roaming on the Indian number and asked money for urgent need,” the complainant said.

Without suspecting foul play, the victim transferred Rs 1.2 lakh on July 18 evening and another Rs 70,000 the next day through four UPI transactions to two phone numbers provided by the fraudster posing as his son-in-law.

The fraud came to light on July 28 when the victim casually mentioned the money transfers to his daughter, who confirmed that neither she nor her husband had sought funds. Realising he had been duped, the 62-year-old approached the Cyber Crime police station on Tuesday, alleging that fraudsters used AI tools to mimic his son-in-law's voice over the phone. Following his complaint, a case was registered under Sections 66C and 66D of the Information Technology Act and Sections 318(4) (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) and 319(2) (cheating by personation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

“We have received two such complaints recently where the fraudsters had supposedly used AI voice tools to mimic the voice of victim’s family members. We are investigating the cases to arrest the offenders. Once arrested, we will get a clear idea of the modus operandi,” deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Cyber Crime, D Kavitha said.

Officials urged the public to double-check unexpected financial requests, even when they appear to originate from friends or relatives. “A quick video call or a callback to the known number can stop such scams,” the DCP added.