BENGALURU: A cyber fraudster posing as an employee of the telecommunications ministry called Rajya Sabha member and philanthropist Sudha Murty, threatening her that her mobile phone number was being used to broadcast obscene videos. The caller claimed that the number had been registered in January 2020 without linking it to her Aadhaar number and warned that her phone number would be disconnected by 12 pm.
Sudha Murty received the call on 5 September at 9:40 am. When the number was checked on the Truecaller app, it appeared as the Telecom Department. A complaint regarding the incident was filed by 65-year-old B Ganapathy on behalf of Sudha Murty. The complaint was registered at the Cyber Crime police station on 20 September. Officials suspect that the accused intended to extract sensitive information from her.
“The caller, using a fake identity, spoke to her abusively. The cyber criminal attempted to obtain personal information from Sudha Murty. The call originated from the number +91 9242142562. When checked on the Truecaller app, it was listed as ‘Telecom Dept’,” stated the complaint.
Legal action has been sought against the caller for the threats and attempts to extract sensitive data. A case has been registered under sections 66(C) for identity theft, 66(D) for cheating by personation using computer resources, and 84(C) for attempting to commit offences, all under the IT Act of 2000. Further investigations are ongoing.