KURNOOL: A major cyber fraud linked to the Andhra Pradesh government’s Thalliki Vandanam welfare scheme has come to light in Kurnool district, where fraudsters allegedly siphoned welfare benefits from the bank accounts of 28 beneficiaries by misusing their personal and biometric information.
Kurnool One Town Circle Inspector Maruthi Shankar said the accused, Upendra and Veera Reddy, allegedly worked as Airtel SIM salespersons and collected Aadhaar details, fingerprints and bank account information from customers while issuing SIM cards.
The Circle Inspector said the duo later used the stolen credentials to gain unauthorised access to the victims’ bank accounts and diverted the welfare benefits without their knowledge.
Based on complaints from the affected beneficiaries, One Town Police registered a case and arrested both accused. Police are investigating whether others were involved in the organised fraud.
Kurnool SP Vikrant Patil urged the public to remain vigilant against fraudsters offering free SIM cards, gifts or government welfare benefits. He advised people not to share Aadhaar numbers, biometric details, OTPs, bank account information, ATM details or UPI PINs with unknown persons.
The SP also advised citizens to obtain SIM cards only from authorised telecom outlets and apply for government welfare schemes only through official government offices, ward or village secretariats, or authorised websites.
He urged victims of cyber fraud to call 1930 Helpline and report the incident.