Bengaluru: A 57-year-old farmer from Electronics City lost more than ₹5.2 lakh to cybercriminals after clicking on a malicious APK file disguised as an “RTO Challan” link in a WhatsApp group.
The victim, Amar Narayana G, a resident of Vittasandra and also the owner of a government ration depot, told police he believed the message was related to a traffic violation involving one of his vehicles.
How the fraud unfolded
On August 15, Narayana clicked on the link out of curiosity.
“In a couple of minutes, my phone hung and the calls were being forwarded. I tried switching it off, and later used my employer’s phone to inform my son,” he said in his complaint.
That same day, cybercrooks siphoned off ₹39,393 from one of his accounts. He immediately alerted his bank and called the 1930 cyber helpline, leading to the account being blocked.
But despite these steps, on August 29, fraudsters managed to breach his three other accounts. Between 6 am and 11 am, they carried out 13 transactions, transferring more than ₹5.2 lakh to accounts in Bengaluru, Mumbai, and other cities.
Narayana said one bank manager managed to stop a ₹50,000 transaction, but the total loss across both days still amounted to over ₹5.2 lakh.
Wider impact
The fraudsters also hacked his WhatsApp account and resent the fake “RTO Challan” link to all his contacts — including family members, relatives, and friends — in an attempt to spread the malware further.
Police action
Following his complaint, the Electronics City police registered a case under the Information Technology Act and Section 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (cheating).
Police said the stolen money was routed to multiple bank accounts across the country and investigations are under way.