A member of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly, Chirri Balaraju, from the Jana Sea Party (JSP), fell victim to cybercriminals who duped him of Rs 12 lakh. The MLA received a fraudulent WhatsApp message disguised as a Road Transport Authority (RTA) challan, leading to the withdrawal of the amount from his bank account upon clicking the link. Realizing the cyber fraud, Balaraju promptly reported the incident to the police, resulting in the registration of a case at Jeelugumilli Police Station.
This incident is not an isolated one in Andhra Pradesh, as previously, another MLA from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) lost Rs 1.07 crore in a similar digital scam. Putta Sudhakar Yadav, the MLA from Mydukur in YSR Kadapa district, was coerced by cybercriminals posing as Mumbai cybercrime officials. They threatened Yadav with a fabricated case of money laundering and human trafficking, compelling him to transfer the money under the guise of securing a provisional bail. Subsequently, realizing the deception, Yadav approached the Hyderabad cybercrime police for assistance.
The fraudsters, masquerading as cybercrime investigation officers, went to great lengths to deceive the MLA. They presented a forged arrest warrant and a CBI account freeze order during a WhatsApp video call, pressuring Yadav to transfer Rs 1.07 crore through multiple transactions within a week. Upon demanding an additional Rs 60 lakh for a court clearance order, Yadav became aware of the scam and sought police intervention to address the situation.
