Ahmedabad Retired Teacher Loses ₹4.32 Lakh In Doctor Appointment Scam After Installing WhatsApp APK
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
A 60-year-old retired teacher from Ahmedabad’s Sardarnagar area allegedly lost ₹4.32 lakh after cyber fraudsters tricked her into installing a malicious APK file while she was trying to book a doctor’s appointment for her ailing son.
The fraudsters allegedly used the file to gain access to her mobile phone and redirect calls and messages, including one-time passwords (OTPs), to another number. Although the woman stopped a payment after becoming suspicious, money was subsequently withdrawn from her Axis Bank account through multiple transactions.
The victim, Manjushri Durgacharansingh Rajput, approached the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and called the 1930 cyber fraud helpline before filing a police complaint. Sardarnagar police have registered a case against unidentified persons and launched an investigation.
₹5 Appointment Fee Request Leads To APK Trap
According to the complaint, Rajput, a resident of Gopal Park on Maya Cinema Road, retired from K.G.K. English Medium School in 2024.
When her son, Samratsingh, fell ill, she searched online for a doctor and obtained the contact number of Dr Ravindrakumar Lodha through Google. She subsequently called the number to arrange an appointment.
The person on the other end allegedly offered to help her fill out an appointment form and sent a file named appartment_booking_FUD.apk through WhatsApp. The woman was asked to pay an online processing fee of ₹5.
She downloaded the file and attempted to make the payment through Google Pay. However, the transaction failed and the caller’s behaviour raised suspicions, prompting her to abandon the payment.
By then, however, the malicious application had allegedly compromised her phone, allowing messages to be forwarded automatically to another mobile number.
₹4.32 Lakh Withdrawn In Multiple Transactions
On the morning of October 21, Rajput received a notification that ₹75,000 had been debited from her Axis Bank account. She immediately rushed to the bank branch near Maya Cinema and had the account frozen.
A subsequent examination of her bank statement revealed that ₹4.32 lakh had been withdrawn through multiple transactions, according to the complaint.
The reported withdrawals included ₹1.65 lakh on October 20 and ₹2.69 lakh through various transactions on October 21. The two figures total ₹4.34 lakh, which does not match the reported overall loss of ₹4.32 lakh.
Police Probe Cyber Fraud
Following the incident, Rajput reported the fraud through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and the 1930 helpline before approaching Sardarnagar police.
Police have registered a case against unidentified persons and are investigating the transactions and the alleged misuse of the victim’s mobile phone.
The case highlights the risks associated with installing APK files received through messaging applications, particularly when they are presented as tools for routine services such as booking medical appointments.
