'A foolish thing happened to me recently'; Amrutha Suresh opens up about falling victim to cyber scam

Singer Amrutha Suresh is quite popular among the Malayali audience. Amrutha and her sister often share personal updates on social media. Amrutha has now revealed that she recently fell victim to a cyber scam and lost Rs 45,000.

"A foolish thing happened to me recently. Not the kind of foolishness you'd expect. June and July are generally difficult months to get programs. You must take this seriously. You know those warning messages you hear during phone calls about cybercriminals? I've always heard them. I even get annoyed thinking about how much time it takes to connect the call because of that announcement.

After this blunder happened, I made a call and heard that very message. That's when it hit me—‘Oh God, this is exactly what happened to me.’ I have a cousin named Bindu. One day, I was sitting in the studio when I got a WhatsApp message from Bindu chechi's number saying, 'I need Rs 45,000 urgently. Please transfer to this account.' I had exactly Rs 45,000 in my account. Since I was in the studio, I didn't bother to call and confirm.

When I told her that I had an EMI due that day, she replied that she would send back the money within an hour. She then sent another UPI ID saying her usual one wasn't working. I immediately transferred the money and even sent a screenshot and a selfie as proof. Then I got a 'Thank you' message from her and another message asking if I could send another Rs 30,000. But I didn't have that much money in my account. Hence, I made a video call to her number, and she cut the call. Then I made a regular phone call. That's when chechi said. 'Ammu, someone hacked my WhatsApp. Don't send any money.' But by then, the money and the selfie were already gone.

Bindu chechi had booked a courier earlier, and she had attended a call, thinking that it was related to the courier. The person said that the delivery boy couldn't reach her and gave another number to call. She called that number and gave her address.

But that number had a star symbol at the end. In the middle of work, she didn’t notice that detail. It was when she called that number that her WhatsApp got hacked. As soon as I realised what had happened, I called the police station and reported it.

Once the scammer receives the money, they immediately withdraw it from an ATM. If you fall victim to a scam, you should immediately call the number mentioned in the warning announcements. If reported quickly enough, the bank can freeze the recipient's account and save the money. When I called the police and they froze the account, only ₹124 was left in it," Amrutha said.