Ahmedabad: Cybercrooks sent a WhatsApp wedding invitation from a number familiar to a 71-year-old retired businessman, prompting him to download a malicious APK file and leaving him poorer by Rs 6.4 lakh. The senior citizen, a resident of Meghaninagar, received the digital wedding card on Sept 15, according to a complaint filed on Tuesday with Cybercrime police.
Cybercrime Investigation Initiated After Multiple Bank Transfers
A complainant reported suspicious financial activities to the cybercrime helpline 1930 before escalating the matter to the Cybercrime police. Investigators discovered that funds were transferred to multiple bank accounts through several transactions, indicating a potentially complex fraud scheme.
Cybercrime police said fraudsters often disguise malicious APK files as wedding invitations, courier notifications, festival greetings or utility bills to trick users into installing malware on their phones. Investigators suspect that after the APK was installed, the fraudsters gained remote access to the victim’s device, stole banking credentials and intercepted OTPs.