A retired employee in Hyderabad lost ₹59 lakh in three days in December 2025. Callers posing as police and government officials reached him on WhatsApp, accused him of human trafficking, job fraud and money laundering, and sent him forged arrest warrants. Under constant threat of arrest, he moved the money by RTGS to several accounts.

Police said the gang had also used malicious app files to get into his internet banking and SMS, and moved the money through shell company accounts into crypto. Two men who had supplied 15 bank accounts to the gang were arrested; police linked them to 65 cases worth about ₹8 crore.

The lesson: real police never arrest anyone or send warrants over WhatsApp.