60-year-old retired employee loses ₹1.6 lakh to sextortion scam via WhatsApp and UPI payments

Summary

A 60-year-old retired employee from Banjara Hills fell victim to an online sextortion scam, losing ₹1.6 lakh to cybercriminals. The incident began on May 16 when the victim received a WhatsApp voice call from an unknown woman, who later engaged him in a nude video call. After the call ended, the victim received a call from someone named Kapil, who threatened to share the video on social media unless money was paid. Between May 17 and May 22, the victim made multiple payments totaling ₹1.6 lakh via UPI to the scammer. Despite the payments, the scammer continued to demand more money, prompting the victim to report the case to the Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police on May 22. A case was registered under relevant sections of the BNS and IT Act, and authorities are tracking the money trail to identify the accused.