Telangana man defrauded in fake currency exchange scam

A 42-year-old private employee in Bollaram, Telangana, was defrauded through a fake old currency exchange scheme advertised on Instagram. The victim contacted fraudsters via WhatsApp after seeing the advertisement on July 26.

To build trust, the perpetrators provided fake identity documents, including PAN and Aadhaar copies, and promised a payout of Rs 99 lakh. The scam began with a small registration fee of Rs 550 paid via PhonePe. The fraudsters later used staged videos of cash bundles and a fabricated video claiming police had intercepted a person at an airport to demand a 1 per cent GST payment of Rs 95,000.

The victim transferred the requested funds through multiple transactions using PhonePe and Google Pay before realizing the deception. Following a report to the cybercrime helpline, the Bollaram Police registered a case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the IT Act, 2008.