Ahmedabad Man Duped of ₹3.70 Lakh Through Fake Adani Gas APK Sent on WhatsApp
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Cybercriminals allegedly posed as Adani Gas officials and persuaded a 59-year-old Satellite resident to install a malicious application; four unauthorised transactions followed
A 59-year-old regional manager from Ahmedabad’s Satellite area allegedly lost ₹3.70 lakh after cybercriminals posing as Adani Gas officials sent him a fake gas bill payment alert on WhatsApp and tricked him into installing a malicious APK file on his mobile phone.
According to a complaint filed at Anandnagar police station on November 4, the complainant, Vinayak Shankar More, a resident of Akshardhara-2 in Satellite, was in Surat on work on September 10 when he received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. The message warned that his Adani Gas connection would be disconnected if the outstanding bill was not paid.
Fake Gas Bill Alert Used to Lure Victim
The message included a contact number, which More called to check his payment status. A man identifying himself as Dewas Joshi allegedly told him that his gas bill had not been updated in the system, even though More said he had already paid it.
The caller then claimed that he would send an Adani Gas APK file through WhatsApp and instructed More to install it to update the payment details. Trusting the caller, More downloaded and installed the application.
The complainant alleged that the caller remained on the phone with him for nearly 30 minutes. When More later tried to disconnect the call, he found that his phone was unresponsive. He eventually restarted the device.
Four Unauthorised Transactions Drain ₹3.70 Lakh
After returning home that night, More checked his bank account and discovered that four unauthorised transactions had been carried out.
According to the FIR, the amounts withdrawn were ₹94,116.27, ₹27,000, ₹1.84 lakh and ₹65,000, taking the total loss to approximately ₹3.70 lakh.
Realising that he had been cheated, More contacted the national cybercrime helpline at 1930 and lodged a complaint.
Anandnagar Police Investigate Fraud
In his complaint, More alleged that unidentified persons had hacked his mobile phone through the APK file and used electronic devices to carry out the fraudulent transactions. He also sought an investigation into the bank accounts to which the money had been transferred, alleging that their holders had facilitated the crime by receiving the proceeds.
Anandnagar police have registered a case under the relevant provisions of law. The investigation is underway to identify those who sent the fraudulent message, the caller who allegedly posed as an Adani Gas representative and the beneficiaries of the four transactions.
