A 59-year-old man from Hyderabad’s Banjara Hills recently lost ₹2.49 lakh to a courier delivery scam, highlighting how cybercriminals are increasingly using small, believable payment requests to trick unsuspecting victims into authorising large fraudulent transactions.
According to Hyderabad police, the victim was expecting a courier from DHL and had been following up on the delivery for nearly two days. On December 2, around 11.30 am, he received an SMS from an unknown mobile number claiming that two delivery attempts had failed. The message urged him to pay a nominal “re-delivery charge” of ₹25 through a link provided in the text.
Believing the message to be genuine and assuming it was part of the delivery process, the man clicked on the link. He was redirected to a website that appeared legitimate and was asked to enter his credit card details. Soon after, he received an OTP, which he assumed was for the ₹25 payment mentioned in the message.
The moment he entered the OTP, a fraudulent transaction of ₹2.49 lakh was processed from his credit card. Realising something was wrong, the victim immediately contacted his bank and later filed a complaint at the Hyderabad cyber crime police station.
Police officials say this is a classic example of an OTP-based delivery scam, where fraudsters exploit people who are already expecting parcels. By asking for a very small amount, scammers lower the victim’s guard, making it easier to obtain sensitive card details and OTPs. Once the OTP is shared, criminals can authorise high-value transactions within seconds.
In a public advisory, Hyderabad police have warned citizens to be extremely cautious of SMS or WhatsApp messages claiming failed deliveries or asking for re-delivery charges. Officials have stressed that reputed courier companies do not ask customers to pay such fees through random links.
Police have advised people to never click on unknown links, avoid entering debit or credit card details on unverified websites, and never share OTPs, CVV numbers, or PINs with anyone. Citizens who suspect fraud have been urged to report it immediately to their bank and the cyber crime helpline, as quick action can sometimes help in blocking or reversing transactions.
With online shopping and home deliveries becoming routine, authorities say awareness is the strongest defence against such scams, especially those that appear harmless at first glance but can result in heavy financial losses.
