Ahmedabad Woman Loses ₹2.62 Lakh After Opening Fake Wedding Invitation APK Sent From Acquaintance’s WhatsApp
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
A 46-year-old woman from Shela allegedly lost ₹2.62 lakh from her bank account after opening an Android application package (APK) file disguised as a wedding invitation, which was sent through the WhatsApp account of an acquaintance, police said.
According to a complaint filed on September 24, the woman, identified as Sangeetaba Virendrasinh Zala, received a WhatsApp message on September 12 from the number of her acquaintance, Mansiben.
The message contained a file presented as a wedding invitation. Since it appeared to have been sent by someone known to her, Zala opened the APK file.
Fake Invitation Allegedly Compromised Phone
After opening the file, the application allegedly sought permission to access the phone, which Zala granted.
Police suspect that the device was subsequently compromised, allowing the accused to access information or carry out unauthorised transactions.
On September 16, ₹99,000 and ₹1.62 lakh were allegedly debited from Zala's Bank of Maharashtra account in two separate transactions.
A further ₹1,000 was allegedly debited on September 18 as tax linked to the earlier transactions, taking the total alleged loss to ₹2.62 lakh.
Acquaintance Later Warned Her About Hacked Phone
Zala later received a call from Mansiben's number. During the conversation, she was allegedly told that Mansiben herself had fallen victim to a cyber fraud and that her mobile phone had been hacked.
Mansiben allegedly warned Zala not to open the APK file sent through WhatsApp.
By then, however, the alleged unauthorised transactions had already taken place and the money had been transferred from Zala's bank account through multiple online transactions.
Cybercrime Helpline Contacted
After noticing the unauthorised transactions, Zala contacted the cybercrime helpline 1930 and registered a complaint.
She subsequently approached Bopal Police Station and lodged a formal complaint, alleging that the accused had used the hacked WhatsApp account of her acquaintance to send the malicious APK file and gain access to her phone and bank-related information.
Police have registered a case and begun an investigation to identify those behind the alleged fraud, trace the money trail and establish how the APK file was used to compromise the woman's device.
