Actor-director Upendra, popularly known as Real Star, and his wife and actress Priyanka Upendra said Monday their mobile phones were hacked, and their data was compromised by fraudsters who later siphoned off about Rs 2 lakh from their friends.
Priyanka said she received a call at around 10 am from someone claiming to represent a Dubai-based online platform where she had placed an order. The caller, posing as an executive, claimed they couldn’t locate her address for package delivery.
“The caller told me that he would send me a code to type and dial, followed by a delivery boy’s contact to deliver the product. Though I was suspicious, I followed the instructions. As instructed by the cyber fraudster, I put the code *21*9279295167# and dialled,” said Priyanka.
She said that after she typed in the code, she thought her mobile phone was hanging. She then forwarded the link to Upendra’s phone, and then clicked on it, after which his phone stopped working as well.
The cyber fraudsters then sent fraudulent WhatsApp messages from Priyanka’s account to her contacts, requesting urgent financial assistance.
‘It’s very urgent now’
The couple soon realised their phones had been hacked, contacted the cyber helpline 1930, and launched a public awareness campaign through their social media platforms. They also filed a complaint at the Sadashivanagar Police Station.
The message read, “Hi, needed some help pls”. Following a response from the contact, the fraudsters sent another message saying, “There will be 55k in your account now? I will return in just 2 hrs. My UPI is not working properly. It’s very urgent now.”
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“Some of the friends who received this message tried to reach out over call, but the mobile phone calls were forwarded, and it kept us in the dark for a while,” Upendra said.
“Yesterday, I saw someone dubbed my voice using AI and discussed it with Uppi. The fraudsters may send phishing links and create fake social media accounts. It was my mistake to dial the code,” Priyanka said.
“We have registered a case under the Information Technology Act, and initiated measures to freeze the fraudster’s accounts,” a senior police officer said.
A police officer said Priyanka clicked the link sent by the cyber fraudsters, and then entered the code, which took control of her phone. According to the details shared by her, the person was speaking in Hindi, and four people from her contact list transferred the money to the fraudsters.
Her son, too, received the message, the officer said.