Kannada film actor and director Upendra and his wife Priyanka Upendra have filed a complaint with the Sadashiva Nagar police in Bengaluru stating that their mobile phones were hacked to send messages to their contacts seeking financial help.
Many of their friends and relatives received messages seeking money transfer through UPI, citing an emergency, with a promise to return the amount within a couple of hours.
Ms. Priyanka told the media that she had received a message claiming an order could not be delivered due to some problem. She was told to dial a number containing symbols.
Both Priyanka and Upendra attempted to call the number from their phones after which their devices were compromised and blocked.
Many of their friends and relatives transferred money.
