In an unusual twist to a cyber fraud case, a school teacher in Uttar Pradesh got partial relief from the very scammer who duped her — only to land in fresh trouble when the returned money turned out to be stolen from someone else’s account.

It All Started With a ₹1,000 Medicine Order

Vandana Rajput, a teacher from Kalyanpur, ordered medicines worth around ₹1,000 from an online platform in November 2024. A few days later, she received a call from a man claiming to be a company representative. He told her the delivery address was missing and sent her a link to confirm the order.

When she clicked the link and followed instructions to send ₹2 for verification, an app began downloading in the background. Moments later, ₹18,500 vanished from her bank account.

Her Tears Moved the Scammer

In a desperate state, Vandana called the scammer and pleaded with him — crying over the phone, explaining her dire financial condition. To her shock, the fraudster responded with what seemed like sympathy: he transferred ₹10,000 back to her.

But instead of solving her problem, this act of "mercy" created a bigger one.

Returned Money Was Also Stolen — Account Frozen

Unbeknownst to Vandana, the scammer didn’t send money from his own account. Instead, the ₹10,000 came from the account of another victim — a person named Hrithik from Maharashtra who had lost ₹27,000 in a separate cyber fraud.

When police tracked the trail of stolen funds, Vandana’s account came under scrutiny — and was eventually frozen in March 2025.

Now the Teacher is Stuck in Bureaucratic Limbo

Since then, Vandana has been shuttling between the Kalyanpur police station and the cyber crime cell, seeking help to unfreeze her account. Despite her innocence, she's now trapped in a procedural mess because stolen money was transferred to her name.

Cyber Cell in-charge Puneet Tomar confirmed that when defrauded funds end up in someone's account, the bank account is automatically frozen. He added that efforts are made to assist such victims but resolving such cases takes time.

The Real Cost of Online Fraud

What began as a ₹1,000 order ended in lost money, a frozen account, and endless rounds to the police station — showing how even a moment of digital trust can have long-lasting consequences. Vandana’s case is a chilling reminder that not every returned rupee brings relief — sometimes, it brings even more trouble.