Ahmedabad Nurse Loses ₹1.32 Lakh After Downloading Fake Gas Bill APK on WhatsApp
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Ahmedabad civil hospital staff nurse lost ₹1.32 lakh after cyber fraudsters tricked her into downloading a fake gas bill update application on WhatsApp.
Baktiben Baldevbhai Raval, a 28-year-old neurosurgery department nurse living in the Shahibaug Civil Staff Quarters, fell victim to the scam on September 13. An unidentified caller contacted her, identifying himself as Srikanth Mishra, an Adani Gas billing update officer.
The caller claimed her pipeline gas connection bill required immediate updating because her previous UPI transactions failed to register in their system.
Malicious APK File and Stolen Credentials
The fraudster instructed Raval to download a file named 'My AdaniGas.apk' sent via WhatsApp and clear a nominal payment of ₹13 to finalise the billing update. Trusting the caller, Raval opened the application and entered her Axis Bank ATM card number and personal identification number.
When the payment failed to go through, the caller blamed a technical glitch and abruptly disconnected the line.
Police Investigation Underway
Behind the scenes, the malicious APK granted remote access to the fraudsters, who quickly drained ₹1.27 lakh from her Axis Bank account and ₹5,000 from her Bank of Baroda account across multiple unauthorised transactions.
Recognising the deception, Raval dialled the 1930 national cyber crime helpline. Shahibaug police registered an offence based on her complaint and initiated a formal probe to trace the culprits.
Cyber Fraud Under the Pretext of Adani Gas in Ahmedabad
31 December 2025: An Isanpur trader fell prey to a fake gas bill update scam after installing a malicious APK file sent via WhatsApp. Fraudsters threatened disconnection, demanded a nominal payment, and compromised his mobile phone to drain ₹98,500 from his State Bank of India account.
4 September 2026: A retired senior citizen from Odhav suffered a loss of ₹3.96 lakh following a targeted online gas disconnection threat. Fraudsters initiated contact via WhatsApp and video calls, manipulating the victim into sharing banking details across three different accounts under the pretext of a ₹13 verification payment.
9 September 2026: A businessman from Maninagar lost ₹1.93 lakh after cyber criminals exploited a bogus gas bill update pretext. The victim was tricked into downloading an Android application under the guise of paying a ₹13 fee, granting remote access that led to two unauthorised debits.
10 September 2026: An online jewellery business owner in Maninagar was cheated out of ₹1.30 lakh by a caller posing as an Adani Gas employee named 'Shrikant Mishra'. The fraudster coerced the victim into installing an APK file and entering credit and debit card credentials.
