Hyderabad: A Telugu NRI social media influencer took to Instagram to share a recent incident at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (Hyderabad Airport), claiming she had likely fallen victim to a scam.
“I think I got scammed at the Hyderabad Airport,” Sheel Yerneni said in the opening of the video as she began recounting the story. She was supposed to be on a flight to Vietnam; however, since her E-visa was not processed in time, she was asked to wait till the next flight.
“I asked them how much the rebooking fee is, and they said Rs 5,200. Later, they come back. They’re like, actually, it’s Rs 5,500. Whatever negligible.”
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When Yerneni tried making the payment with her credit card, it repeatedly showed “internet failure.” The management reportedly said there was a problem with her card, even after she showed that the problem was with the internet. “He’s (the airport authority) like you don’t have cash, I said, ‘it’s the airport I don’t have cash.’ He then starts walking me to the ATM,” she continued. “While two or three people are with him, the manager is just at the corner, giving the occasional nod,” Yerneni said.
“I said I don’t have a debit card, I don’t have my Bank of America debit card either, but he’s still walking me over there anyways, saying, ‘follow me.’ I was like Where?”
Later, the employee asked her to make a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transaction via Google Pay.
She called her uncle, a local, but the issue persisted. Following repeated payment failures, the employee reportedly showed his personal QR code, which also did not work, Yerneni said, frustrated.
The team then suggested she pay the manager directly using his phone number, which immediately raised her suspicions. “The other team members start giggling a little bit. At this point, they don’t know I speak Telugu.” She said that after a long time, one of the team members eventually told her, “Don’t worry, your ticket is already booked.”
When she asked for clarification, the airline employee insisted that payment was still required to board the flight. “They pull up a spreadsheet with the numbers, saying I still have to pay,” Yerneni recounted the incident. “Anyone can type in numbers in a spreadsheet, I don’t know.”
She added, “A 5,500 small fee for flight change, no problem. But I just think that they pulled that number out of thin air. Tell me if I’m crazy.”
The influencer later clarified in the comments that the amount was Rs 5,500, not US dollars, though she remained suspicious of the entire encounter.
