A resident of Gowliguda in Hyderabad was cheated of ₹3.41 lakh in a sextortion scam, police said on Friday. The scam unfolded on October 5 at around 1:30 p.m. but it came to light only on December 19.
On October 5, the victim received a call from an unknown woman who identified herself as Jyothi Gupta and attempted to seduce him during the conversation. Shortly afterwards, he received a video call from another person who introduced himself as Vikram Goswami and appeared to be wearing a uniform. The caller threatened to circulate an alleged video of the victim on social media and ruin his reputation.
Out of fear and panic, the victim was coerced into making multiple payments on different occasions through Google Pay to an account held by one Manjeet Singh. The accused assured him that the matter would be closed and that the money would be refunded. However, the threats continued and the victim later discovered that his bank accounts were hacked, resulting in further financial losses.
Police said that the accused escalated the intimidation by falsely claiming that the woman involved in the call had died and demanded additional money to prevent legal consequences. Overwhelmed by fear, social stigma and a sense of helplessness, the victim ended up losing a total of ₹3,41,950.
Following a complaint, a case has been booked by the cyber crime wing of the Hyderabad police and further investigation is underway.
The police issued an advisory cautioning that such video call blackmail cases are a common form of online fraud and urged the public not to accept video calls from unknown numbers or engage with callers making threats. They stressed that no law enforcement agency ever demands money over phone or video calls to close cases or prevent circulation of videos.
Citizens have been advised to immediately disconnect and block threatening calls, avoid sharing OTPs, bank details or screen access, and preserve all evidence such as call logs, screenshots and payment details. Victims of cyber fraud have been urged to report incidents immediately by calling the national cyber crime helpline 1930 or by lodging a complaint on the cybercrime portal to enable timely action.
Published – December 19, 2025 07:40 pm IST
