Ahmedabad Woman Loses ₹81,000 After Online Product Replacement Call Leads To APK-Based Phone Hack
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
A 29-year-old woman working at a private bank in Ahmedabad’s Dariyapur area lost ₹81,000 after a fake product replacement process allegedly led to her mobile phone being hacked. The woman had ordered a hair-removal machine after seeing an Instagram reel, but received batteries instead. When she contacted the website for a replacement, a cyber fraudster allegedly got her to share her screen, install an APK file and later transferred money from two of her bank accounts.
Dariyapur police have registered a case and launched an investigation.
Woman Ordered Hair-Removal Machine After Seeing Instagram Reel
The woman, who works in the loan department of a private bank, came across a reel advertising a hair-removal machine on Instagram on September 15. She ordered the product through a link given in the reel’s description and opted for cash on delivery.
The parcel was delivered to her home on September 18. After paying the delivery charges, she opened the package and found batteries instead of the hair-removal machine.
When she contacted the delivery agent, he advised her to approach the website from which she had placed the order to request a replacement.
Fraudster Asked Her To Install APK File
On September 19, the woman logged into the website mentioned on the package and contacted the toll-free and other numbers listed there.
A person who answered the call obtained her WhatsApp number. After this, a man identified as Sumit Parmar made a video call to her. A laptop screen was visible during the call.
The man allegedly asked her to share her mobile screen and sent her a link to an APK file. He instructed her to enable permission for apps from unknown sources in her phone settings and install the application.
During the process, he also allegedly got her to delete the WhatsApp Business account on her phone.
Woman Became Suspicious When Asked To Open Google Pay
When the fraudsters asked her to open Google Pay for the next step, the woman became suspicious. She immediately disconnected the video call and blocked the number.
However, her phone was no longer responding properly and could not be switched off. She then took the device to a mobile repair shop for examination.
Later, she reinstalled Google Pay and checked her bank accounts. She discovered that ₹81,000 had been debited from two bank accounts.
The woman immediately alerted the cybercrime helpline and lodged a complaint with Dariyapur police, who have started an investigation into the incident.
