Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police arrested a 30-year-old fraudster who allegedly tricked a city resident into losing RS 2.3 lakh in a fake online sale of embroidery machines.

The accused is Peketi Veerababu. He lives in a hostel near SR Nagar Metro in Hyderabad. Native of Kakinada, East Godavari District.

The victim, a 33-year-old private employee from Hyderabad, saw an OLX post about sewing embroidery machines for Rs. 2,30,000. He contacted the seller via social media, and he was instructed to transfer the amount through PhonePe. The victim trusted the seller and sent money in several transactions from his Canara Bank account. After that, the seller stopped responding. He lost an amount of Rs. 2,30,000.

Explaining the modus operandi of the accused, police said he used to contact victims through different social media platforms. He also set up mule bank accounts to collect money. In some cases, like this one, he provided a gaming platform account to deposit funds. After the transactions, the accused blocked the victim's contacts. He doesn't answer calls or messages. 

The team was headed by K. Satish Reddy, Inspector of Police, consisting of team members and under the supervision of R.G. Siva Maruthi, ACP, Cyber Crime PS, Hyderabad, have detected the case.

Public advisory

Beware of fake advertisements in social media groups, i.e., OLX, Telegram, WhatsApp, X, Instagram, and Facebook, which are popping up everywhere. Don’t believe fraudulent online advertisements showing the sale of various appliances. Never transfer money to the accounts provided online without proper verification of their genuineness. Report suspicious transactions immediately, and if you notice an unauthorized transaction, raise a dispute with your bank immediately. In case anyone becomes a victim of cyber-crime fraud, dial 1930 or report such fraudulent activity immediately at www.cybercrime.gov.in portal.