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A 45-year-old homemaker from Secunderabad was duped of over ₹2.79 lakh in an online scam involving a fake children’s talent contest in which fraudsters promised lucrative modelling assignments to her child.

The scam unfolded on May 12, 2025, when the victim was contacted via Facebook by a user operating under the name ‘Erica Wally’. The accused claimed to be a receptionist with ‘Wonder Kidz’, an alleged children’s talent agency hosting a ‘Kids Talent Model Contest 2025’ in Hyderabad.

“The fraudster convinced the woman that they were scouting children for modelling assignments for well-known international brands such as H&M, Ajio, Zara Kids, Mothercare, and Kiddy Palace. Believing the opportunity to be genuine, the woman shared personal details and photographs of her child as requested,” the cyber crime unit of the Hyderabad police said.

Soon after, the scammer instructed her to continue the communication on Telegram, assuring her that clothing for the shoot would be delivered to her address at no cost. She was added to a Telegram group through a link sent by the fraudster.

To maintain the appearance of legitimacy, the woman was asked to complete three “welfare tasks”. This included liking certain Facebook pages and submitting screenshots as proof. After completing these tasks, she was sent merchant links and directed to place orders as part of a verification process, with the assurance that the money paid would be fully refunded.

Trusting the process, the victim made three payments of ₹5,000, ₹18,000, and ₹58,000. She was later told that a system crash had occurred due to an incorrect captcha input and was asked to pay an additional ₹98,000 in two instalments to retrieve the amount she had already spent. The deception did not end there; the fraudster subsequently coerced her into paying a further ₹1.69 lakh, though she only managed to pay ₹1 lakh in two parts.

When the victim finally demanded her money back, she was told she had failed to complete the tasks correctly, again blaming a system crash. It was only then that she realised she had been defrauded.

Following a complaint, a case was booked by the cyber crime wing of the Hyderabad police and investigation was initiated.