Bapunagar Man Loses ₹89,000 After Malicious APK Gives Hackers Access To Phone
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
Summarized by AI; it may make mistakes. Check important info
A 63-year-old man from Ahmedabad’s Bapunagar lost ₹89,000 after allegedly downloading a malicious APK file while browsing the internet on his mobile phone. The file reportedly allowed cybercriminals to gain remote access to his device and carry out multiple transactions from his State Bank of India (SBI) account.
Malicious APK Downloaded While Browsing
Krishnakant Oghadram Dhonduram, 63, was browsing the internet on September 26 when a file named ‘iflix-2026.apk cfg-v5’ was downloaded onto his phone.
After the APK was installed, his phone was allegedly compromised, giving the fraudsters remote access to the device.
Soon after, transactions began taking place from his SBI account.
₹89,000 Transferred To Four Bank Accounts
The cybercriminals allegedly transferred a total of ₹89,000 through several online transactions.
The fraud came to light when Dhonduram received messages informing him that money had been debited from his account. He then visited his bank and obtained his account statement.
The bank’s investigation showed that the money had been transferred to accounts held with Bank of India, Axis Bank, Canara Bank and Bihar Gramin Bank.
Police Suspect Use Of Mule Accounts
The transfers to multiple bank accounts have raised suspicion that the fraudsters may have used mule accounts to route the stolen money.
Such accounts are bank accounts used by cybercriminals to receive or move illegally obtained funds. Police suspect that accounts belonging to people in rural areas of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal may sometimes be used for this purpose in exchange for commissions.
Police have started investigating the case from this angle.
Victim Approaches Cybercrime Helpline
After discussing the incident with his family and nephew, Dhonduram reported the fraud through the cybercrime helpline and subsequently lodged a complaint.
Police have initiated an investigation into the malicious APK, the transactions and the bank accounts that received the ₹89,000.
