Digital drama: Fraudsters hack phones of Sandalwood actors Upendra Rao, Priyanka; pocket money from family, friends

BENGALURU: In a shocking turn of events, Sandalwood couple Upendra Rao and Priyanka Upendra became victims of a ruthless digital scam. What began as a routine day quickly spiralled into a nightmare when fraudsters hacked their phones, impersonated trusted couriers, and unleashed a deceptive campaign to swindle money from their contacts.

Some of their family and friends transferred money to the fraudsters, forcing the couple to fight back and raise alarm before more damage could be done. Fraudsters hacked the phones of the couple and their manager by impersonating a courier and sent messages to their contacts seeking financial help. Messages were sent from actress Priyanka Upendra's WhatsApp account, and at least four people, including her son and two of his friends, transferred money through a digital payment application to a number provided by the fraudsters.

Realising the fraud, the couple reported the issue to the cyber helpline 1930, spread awareness through their social media accounts, and alerted the media. The couple also filed a complaint at Sadashivanagar police station. "We have taken up the case under the Information Technology Act and have taken measures to freeze money from the fraudster's account," a senior police officer said. How their phones were hackedPriyanka had placed an order through a Dubai-based online platform and was expecting the delivery.

Around 10am, she received a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as an executive of the online platform and told her that their delivery partners were unable to deliver her order as they could not trace her address. "The caller said he would send me a code to type and dial. The delivery boy would contact me, and the item would be delivered at the earliest. I initially suspected, but in chaos, I followed the instructions of the fraudster.

I put the code *21*9279295167# and dialled. My iPhone got hacked. I thought it was hanging and immediately took Uppi's phone and input the same code and dialled. His phone also got hacked. I didn't have any idea that our phones were being hacked," Priyanka said.

"Our staff member, Mahadeva, came to our house in a few minutes. I borrowed his phone and dialled the code in a bid not to miss the item delivery. His phone also got hacked.

All three phone calls were forwarded to the fraudster's number. They also installed WhatsApp on our numbers and started sending messages to our contacts," she added.What Was in the Message?‘Hi, needed some help pls.' Once the respective contact replied, the fraudster sent, ‘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.' If someone tried to reach Priyanka or Upendra, their numbers were not reachable.

"My son, his friends, and others, at least four people, transferred the money after they tried reaching us. My son thought his mother was in some need and transferred the money immediately through UPI," Upendra Rao said. "The fraudsters are asking for Rs 55,000 from all our contacts, promising to return it in two hours. We have lodged a complaint with the police. They assured us they would catch the fraudsters. We request people to be aware of such frauds and recover the money. Do not send money to anyone without verifying," Priyanka 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."