Vizag man loses Rs 80,000 to cyber frauds posing as TDP leaders

A man from Vizag fell victim to the cyber fraud after scammers exploited his Facebook post about the development of a vacant plot into a public park.

The man approached the GVMC commissioner to develop an unused plot for public use, as the area fostered illegal activities. After the authorities did not respond, he tagged TDP leaders, including Nara Lokesh and Nara Brahmani, in a Facebook post seeking help.

On June 7, after his social media appeal, he received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number. The caller, using the name and display image of former minister Devineni Uma, claimed to represent senior political leaders and shared altered chats with MLAs and GVMC officials to build trust. They also impersonated Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu through voice and video calls.

Convinced by these efforts, the man was promised resolution of the land issue if he paid a ‘processing fee’ of Rs 80,000, which he transferred via UPI to an account named Rathod Santosh.

After receiving the money, the accused stopped responding and removed his profile picture. The victim realised the fraud and approached the cybercrime police, who registered a case and launched an investigation.

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