Hyderabad woman duped of ₹12.57 lakh in online ‘Dubai prince’ scam
Fraudster posed as prince, trapped hearing-impaired woman in transferring large amounts
HYDERABAD: A 61-year-old retired postal assistant from Gachibowli was duped of ₹12.5 lakh by a cyber fraudster who posed as a Dubai-based prince, promising her huge returns from an investment scheme. Cyberabad Cyber crime police registered a case on November 11, 2025, following a complaint filed by her daughter.
According to police, complainant K. Shravanthi, 38, a bank employee, lodged a complaint on behalf of her mother K. Padmavathi, who is hearing-impaired. Shravanthi said she discovered the fraud when she checked her mother’s mobile phone and found suspicious WhatsApp chats with an unknown person using multiple UK-based numbers, including +44 7594 802213 and +44 7748 406848.
Fraudster claimed to be stranded in India
The accused, identified by the name ‘Hamadz’, introduced himself as a Dubai prince and befriended Padmavathi through online chats. He claimed he was stranded at an airport in India without local currency and needed money for food and “custom clearance” to transfer a large sum to Hyderabad. Believing him, Padmavathi made several transfers to different bank accounts and phone numbers.
Over two months, the woman transferred ₹12,75,527 in multiple transactions. Only ₹17,782 was refunded. Despite her daughter’s warnings, the fraudster continued to contact Padmavathi, seeking further payments under the pretext of recovering earlier transfers.
Police book case under cyber fraud
Based on the complaint, Police registered a case under relevant provisions for cheating and cyber fraud. Investigators are tracing the suspect accounts and numbers used in the offence.
Police have urged citizens, particularly senior citizens, to stay cautious of such scams involving fake social media and messaging app profiles.
