Mangaluru: A man lost Rs 2.6 lakh in a cyber fraud after a malicious APK file disguised as an mParivahan application was allegedly downloaded on his mobile phone. According to a complaint lodged by the 29-year-old victim at the CEN crime police station, around 3.31 pm on Nov 10, a total of Rs 2,61,282 was debited from his account through four separate transactions. When he informed his family members about the unauthorised transactions, he learnt that an APK file named ‘mParivahan’ had been downloaded on his mobile phone. Suspecting cyber fraud, he immediately contacted the cybercrime helpline 1930 and registered an online complaint. CEN crime police registered a case.73-year-old loses Rs 1.2 lakh to fake life certificate scamA 73-year-old man lost Rs 1.2 lakh to cyber fraudsters who allegedly duped him by posing as bank employees and offering assistance with submitting his life certificate online. According to the complaint, the victim was playing a game on an app on his mobile phone on Nov 7 when he came across an advertisement featuring a bank logo for a life certificate. He clicked on the advertisement, filled in the required details and submitted the form. However, an error message stating ‘Something went wrong’ appeared. Soon after, he received a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as an employee of the life certificate department of the bank and asked whether the victim had attempted to submit his life certificate online. He then sent an APK file to the victim’s WhatsApp number, asking him to install it and fill in the required details. Trusting the caller, the victim installed the file and entered his personal details, debit card information, PIN and mobile number. Shortly afterwards, a total of Rs 1.2 lakh was transferred in multiple transactions from his bank account at the Mangaluru branch on Nov 7. CEN crime police are investigating.Fake loan offer costs man Rs 1.1 lakhA 32-year-old man lost Rs 1.1 lakh to cyber fraudsters who allegedly lured him with a loan offer advertised on Instagram. According to the complaint, the victim came across a loan advertisement on Instagram while browsing his mobile phone on Nov 9. After clicking on it, he entered his name, address and PAN details. Around 4.30 pm, he received a call from an unidentified person claiming to represent a finance company. The caller said the victim’s loan application had been received and offered him a loan of Rs 5 lakh. Around 5 pm, the caller contacted him again and said the loan was covered by insurance, for which he had to pay Rs 5,999. Believing the offer, the victim transferred the amount through a digital payment app to a mobile number provided by the caller. The fraudsters subsequently demanded additional payments towards loan tax, asking him to transfer Rs 18,500, Rs 29,999 and Rs 39,999. Trusting their assurances, the victim transferred a total of Rs 90,500 through a digital payment app in multiple transactions between Nov 9 and 11. He also transferred Rs 19,999 from his wife’s bank account on Nov 9. A case has been registered at CEN crime police station.
