A 30-year-old resident of Begumpet lost ₹7.9 lakh after falling prey to a fake NGO loan scam promising a ₹50 lakh loan.
The victim received a WhatsApp call from a person whose display picture showed Hyderabad Youth Courage (HYC) founder Salman Khan.
The caller falsely informed the man that a loan of ₹50 lakh was sanctioned to name and asked him to transfer ₹10 lakh towards processing and related charges. Believing the offer to be genuine, the victim sent ₹7.9 lakh from accounts belonging to his acquaintances to the bank accounts shared by the fraudster.
When he later requested disbursement of the loan amount, the fraudster demanded an additional ₹30,000, assuring that the total ₹10 lakh would then be refunded.
Realising that he was duped, the victim stopped further payments and lodged a complaint..
A case was booked by the cyber crime wing of the Hyderabad police and investigation was initiated.
Meanwhile, police officials cautioned people against trusting unsolicited WhatsApp calls or messages offering loans from NGOs or unknown sources. They advised citizens to verify any financial offers through official portals and to report cyber frauds immediately by dialling 1930 or visiting cybercrime.gov.in.
Published – October 14, 2025 06:54 pm IST
