Hyderabad: BRS MLA Palla Rajeshwar Reddy lost ₹1 lakh in a Palla Rajeshwar Reddy cyber fraud after a scamster posed as a senior Finance Department official.
The incident occurred on April 5 while the MLA was in Hyderabad. According to the complaint, an unidentified caller introduced himself as an Additional Secretary in the Finance Department and offered assistance under a purported Central government scheme.
The caller claimed that loans of up to ₹10 lakh could be arranged for unemployed youth. He then demanded a processing fee of ₹2,500 per beneficiary to facilitate the approvals.
Palla Rajeshwar Reddy cyber fraud exposes impersonation scam
Believing the claim, the MLA agreed to transfer funds to support youth in his constituency. Accordingly, he transferred ₹1 lakh through the PhonePe platform.
Later, he contacted the actual Finance Department official to verify the details. At that point, he found that no such scheme existed and that the call was fraudulent.
He then realised he had been deceived and filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime Wing of the Jubilee Hills Police Station. Police have initiated an investigation into the Palla Rajeshwar Reddy cyber fraud to trace the accused.
Officials said such impersonation scams often target public representatives and citizens by exploiting government scheme narratives. They advised verification of official claims before making financial transactions.