Ahmedabad trader duped of ₹98,500 after clicking on fake ‘Adani Gas bill’ link

A 50-year-old trader from Isanpur has fallen victim to a cyber fraud after clicking on a malicious APK link that showed an Adani Gas bill update, resulting in an unauthorised transfer of ₹98,500 from his State Bank of India account, police said.

According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered at Isanpur Police Station, Jwalant Harshadray Familia, who runs an electrical goods supply business, received a message from an unknown mobile number on November 3, 2025, claiming that his Adani Gas bill had not been updated and that his gas connection would be disconnected by the evening.

The message carried a contact number, and when the complainant called it, the caller allegedly posed as an Adani Gas official and asked him to pay ₹12 to update the bill. When the payment did not go through, the caller instructed him to open WhatsApp and click on a link sent in the name of a gas connection update. The link was an APK file, which the complainant was persuaded to open and install.

Police said the complainant was asked to enter his business banking credentials under the pretext of completing the update process. Although he did not share any OTP thereafter, his mobile phone was allegedly compromised. The following morning, on November 4, he received alerts indicating that ₹98,500 had been debited from his SBI current account.

Realising that his phone had been hacked and his account emptied through unauthorised access, the complainant immediately contacted the national cybercrime helpline number 1930 and informed his bank. An acknowledgement was issued by the helpline, following which he approached the police to lodge a formal complaint.

An FIR has been registered for cheating and cyber fraud. Officials said the accused had gained the complainant’s trust by impersonating a gas utility official and using a malicious APK file to access his mobile phone and banking details. Further investigation is on.