A 28-year-old woman from Bengaluru was allegedly cheated of nearly ₹48.5 lakh in a sophisticated cyber fraud after scammers misused the personal details she had shared while applying for a home loan online.
The victim, identified as Shreya (name changed), has lodged a complaint with the police, stating that what began as a routine home loan enquiry eventually turned into months of harassment, extortion and unauthorised bank transactions.
Fraud began with online home loan enquiry
According to the complaint, Shreya, a resident of Halasuru employed with a private company, had applied for a home loan through a website in October 2025. During the application process, she entered personal information, including her PAN, Aadhaar, office details and a selfie after receiving a link from the website.
However, she did not proceed with the loan application.
Several months later, from March 26, 2026, she allegedly began receiving threatening WhatsApp calls and messages from multiple international numbers.
Fraudsters used threats and morphed images
The scammers falsely claimed that loans had been taken in her name through various loan applications, including Fibe, Tejas and Rupee Redee, and demanded repayment through the Repay App.
To pressure her into paying, they allegedly threatened legal action and sent morphed obscene images, warning that they would circulate them on social media if she failed to transfer money.
Fearing damage to her reputation, the woman reportedly transferred nearly ₹3.5 lakh to the fraudsters through multiple transactions.
₹45 lakh siphoned without OTP alerts
Suspecting fraud, she switched off her phone, deleted suspicious APK files, formatted the device and changed both her handset and SIM card in May.
Despite these precautions, she discovered in July 2026 that nearly ₹45 lakh had been withdrawn from her bank account through unauthorised transactions. She alleged that the money was transferred without her knowledge and that she did not receive any OTPs or SMS alerts.
After approaching her bank, she was advised to contact the National Cyber Crime Helpline (1930) and file a police complaint.
Police have registered a case under the Information Technology Act and Section 318 (Cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The investigation is underway to trace the fraudsters and recover the siphoned funds.