Man orders black fungus drug online; duped of Rs 8 lakh

HYDERABAD: A man who tried to buy medicine online for black fungus disease was cheated of Rs 8 lakh. This is just one of several such cases where the public are being cheated by cyber fraudsters.

Fraudsters are posting bogus advertisements on various websites and social media platforms in the name of providing medicine for black fungus and Covid-19. They are deceiving the public by giving fake assurances of delivering drugs within hours of ordering.

In one such case, a resident of Gachibowli searched online to purchase injections to treat black fungus disease and found one. He contacted the number provided in the advertisement and the person who took the call stated that medicines were available with the seller and asked for initial payment.

The fraudster assured delivery of medicine in Hyderabad through courier within three to four hours and demanded Rs 8.3 lakh for 60 injections and provided bank account details. The complainant transferred the money but medicine was not delivered. He tried calling the seller but all his calls went unanswered. Then, he realised that he was cheated,

"Believing fake advertisements, people are transferring money to those cheats’ accounts. In some instances, fraudsters are managing to get sensitive information such as card details and OTPs and cheating them to the tune of lakhs of rupees," said the police.

The Cyberabad police appealed to the public not to believe in any advertisement on social media platforms and send money to them without verification. The police urged the public to contact the director of medical education, Telangana state on email dme@telangana.gov.in for various drugs related to Covid and related diseases.