Fraudsters based in Mumbai, impersonating police officers, attempted to extort money from actor Mala Parvathy while she was shooting for a Tamil film in Madurai. On Sunday afternoon, she received a call claiming that a courier she had sent from Mumbai to Taiwan had been seized and that she was implicated in a money-laundering scheme.

“They presented fake ID cards, claiming to be from the Mumbai police. The scammers also misused my Aadhaar card details to persuade me. They stated that a parcel containing MDMA had been detained and that I was a victim of a money-laundering scam. Prakash Kumar Guntu, a member of their team, informed me that around 15 bank accounts had been opened in my name by the alleged money launderers,” she explained to TNIE.

Although she was initially taken aback, she soon realised it was a scam. After conducting a quick search online, she recognised the scheme aimed at extorting money from her. The actor chose not to file a police report, citing no financial loss. However, she did notify officials in the state about the incident.

Mala was last seen in this year's Ajayante Randam Moshanam, headlined by Tovino Thomas.