An investigation is underway.
Cybercriminals allegedly hacked the bank account of a retired school teacher in Annamayya via WhatsApp link and stole Rs 21 lakh.
According to police, Ms Varalakshi, a resident of Reddeppanaidu Colony in Madanapalle town of Annamayya district, received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. There was a link in the WhatsApp message and after clicking the link, money was debited from her bank account.
Ms Varalakshi claimed that since then, she has been receiving messages that the money has been deducted from her account. After contacting bank officials, she got to know that her account was hacked and Rs 21 lakh was withdrawn from her account. Ms =Varalakshi lodged a complaint to Cybercrime Police on Saturday.
A police official said cyber criminals were sending links to WhatsApp numbers and hacking accounts and withdrawing money through them.
"Cybercriminals have recently stolen Rs 12 lakh from the account of Gnanaprakash, a software employee from Madanapalle. Two town police registered a case on the incident on Friday. On the very next day, a complaint was received that Rs 21 lakh was stolen from the bank account of a retired school teacher Varalakshmi," added the official.
The investigation is underway.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)