Sandalwood actor Upendra and his wife Priyanka Upendra became victims of cybercrime in September when hackers gained access to their mobile phones, causing a loss of around Rs 1.5 lakh. Sadashivnagar police has arrested Bihar resident Vikas Kumar in this case.
According to the police, Kumar and his associates were allegedly involved in a large-scale cyber fraud. The incident started on September 15 when Priyanka booked a luggage online and later received a link on her phone. After clicking on this link, his WhatsApp account was hacked and messages were sent to his contacts asking them to send Rs 55,000 immediately.
Accused Vikas Kumar has been arrested from Dashrathpur village in Bihar and brought to Bengaluru. The incident occurred on September 15, when Priyanka Upendra received a suspicious link on her phone after ordering some items online. Believing it to be genuine, he clicked on the link, which gave the hackers remote access to his WhatsApp account.
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After this, messages were sent to his contacts in his name, asking for immediate assistance of Rs 55,000. Some acquaintances, unaware of this fraud, sent money to the given account. The couple’s son is also among those sending money. When some people tried to confirm by calling Priyanka, the call was disconnected. This raised suspicion. Within a short time the swindlers grabbed around Rs 1.5 lakh.
Upon realizing the situation, Priyanka contacted her husband and manager, but by then Upendra’s phone had also been hacked. After this the couple lodged a complaint at Sadashivnagar police station. The city police and the Central Cyber Crime Branch launched a joint investigation and based on digital evidence, the accused was traced to Dashrathpur village in Bihar.
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Investigation revealed that this village is notorious for cyber crimes, where many youth aged between 20 to 25 years are involved in online fraud. Police officials said that about 150 youths in the village were found active in such crimes. On the basis of technical evidence and surveillance, the police identified Vikas Kumar and arrested him. He has been brought to Bengaluru for questioning and the search for his associates and the entire network is on.