Adilabad police: fake escort site royalescort.com shared on WhatsApp led to Rs 4.2 lakh loss

What happened

Hyderabad Mail reports that Adilabad police arrested a 23-year-old man from Rajasthan in an alleged cyber fraud case. According to police, a victim received a WhatsApp link to the website royalescort.com, was asked to pay Rs 2,200 through PhonePe, and afterwards Rs 4,20,210 was debited from accounts linked to his credit cards in 16 transactions. Police allege the fake escort websites were promoted on Instagram, with contact moved to Telegram and WhatsApp, and that the accused is linked to about 220 complaints across the country. Police say about Rs 2 lakh has been recovered.

How the scam works

According to the police account, the victim got a link from an unknown number on WhatsApp. Opening it brought up a prompt to pay Rs 2,200 through PhonePe, which he did believing the offer was genuine. Afterwards, money left accounts linked to his credit cards in 16 transactions he had not authorised.

Police allege the same man ran fake escort-service sites promoted on Instagram, then moved people who responded to Telegram and WhatsApp, where he promised services in return for advance payments and did not deliver. They also allege he used SIM cards obtained with other people's identity documents and routed victims' money through mule bank accounts. Where victims paid by credit card, police say, he bought gift cards on online platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart and used them to get goods.

These are police allegations from a media briefing; the report does not describe any court finding. Police say the case began with the victim's complaint, that Rs 2 lakh was frozen and returned through the court, and that investigators are examining seized devices for other offences.

Source

Hyderabad Mail, "ADILABAD: Cyber fraudster arrested in Gujarat for cheating man of ₹ 4.20 lakh" (26 October 2026).