Beware! Rs 1.5 Lakh Wiped Out From Bank Account After Opening Digital Wedding Invite; Fraudsters Used APK File to Dupe Victim
Ahmedabad: Cyber fraudsters in Ahmedabad’s eastern zone have cheated two citizens of a combined Rs 2.10 lakh using two separate modus operandi. In Gomtipur, a young man was lured on Telegram with promises of high returns on stock market investments and duped of money through various fake charges, while in a separate case, a young man from Nikol had his entire device hacked after receiving an APK file disguised as a wedding invitation on WhatsApp, resulting in lakhs of rupees being transferred out of his bank account without his knowledge. Cases have been registered at the Gomtipur and Krishnanagar police stations in both matters, and further investigation is underway.
Rs 1.51 Lakh Vanishes From Account After Opening APK Wedding Invite Sent From Friend’s Number
Nilesh Bhuva, a 44-year-old electrician residing at Shrinath Park opposite the powerhouse on Nikol Road, received an invitation card on his mobile phone on September 2 from the WhatsApp number of his friend Jaysukh. However, instead of a PDF or image file, it was an APK file and since Nilesh had no idea what that meant, he went ahead and opened it.
The next afternoon, he suddenly began receiving debit alert messages from his Bank of India account. He rushed to the bank and got his account frozen, but by then Rs 45,000, Rs 16,000, Rs 84,000 and Rs 6,000 — a total of Rs 1.51 lakh — had already been withdrawn.
A bank investigation revealed that the APK file had hacked his phone and stolen all his account credentials. Krishnanagar police have registered a case against an unidentified person under charges of fraud and the IT Act, and an investigation has been launched.
Fake Profit Invoice on Telegram Group Used to Dupe Accountant of Rs 59,936
Sahil Kamlesh Rana, a 24-year-old accounts assistant working at a private firm in Paldi and residing in Abukasai’s Dhaba Chali near Rajpur Post Office in Gomtipur, filed a complaint at the Gomtipur police station. According to Sahil, on September 12, he came across a Telegram group featuring screenshots showing profits from investments. He then reached out to the group’s admin, who went by the name “Jigha Bhai.”
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The scammer offered a profit of Rs 45,000 against an investment of Rs 10,000. On September 15, Sahil transferred Rs 5,000. Shortly after, the fraudster sent Sahil a fake invoice showing a profit of Rs 53,000 and a commission of Rs 14,000 in his name. To claim this profit, the scammer extracted a total of Rs 59,936 from Sahil in instalments, using different UPI IDs under the guise of commission, withdrawal charges, sending charges, processing charges and additional charges. When the money wasn’t returned the next day and Sahil sent a message asking about it, the accused blocked him. Gomtipur police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the matter.