A 60-year-old retired man from Thane district, along with 21 others, has been allegedly cheated of over Rs 31 lakh through a malicious link sent under the pretext of updating a piped gas company's bill payment, police said on Saturday.
How the fraud unfolded
The complainant, a resident of Khadakpada in Kalyan, received a WhatsApp message on May 30 from a man posing as 'Divesh Joshi'. The accused sent an APK file named 'Mahanagar Gas bill update http://Online.apk' and asked the victim to pay Rs 10 via debit card. When the payment failed, the complainant was instructed to use another card. Shortly after, the victim began receiving OTPs, and a total of Rs 8.68 lakh were debited from his two bank accounts in six transactions, according to officials.
Total fraud amount and legal action
According to the Khadakpada police, 21 other individuals were similarly duped of Rs 22.74 lakh, bringing the total fraud amount to Rs 31.43 lakh. A case has been registered under section 318 (4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant sections of the Information Technology Act against the accused.
Authorities have urged citizens to exercise caution while clicking on links or downloading files from unknown sources, especially those claiming to be from utility service providers.
