Ahmedabad: An 86-year-old retired professor from Satellite has alleged that cyberfraudsters siphoned off Rs 10.8 lakh from his bank accounts after a malicious APK file disguised as the mParivahan app was allegedly installed on his mobile phone. The fraud came to light after he received alerts about unauthorised transactions, prompting a complaint with the cybercrime police.The victim, Sureshchandra Pancholi, a former economics professor and principal of Sahajanand College in Ambawadi, discovered the fraud on Oct 17 when he began receiving SMS alerts regarding transactions from his ICICI Bank account.After retiring in 2002, Pancholi had been living in Satellite. Following the alerts, he visited the bank with a neighbour and learned that Rs 7.5 lakh had been transferred online from his account. Bank officials immediately blocked the account and advised him to lodge a complaint through the national cybercrime helpline, 1930.Subsequently, Pancholi, accompanied by his son, checked his Bank of Baroda account at the Manekbag branch and found that another Rs 3.3 lakh had been transferred without his knowledge.According to the complaint, a preliminary inquiry revealed that an APK file bearing the name mParivahan had been received from an unknown number through a WhatsApp group. Pancholi told police that he could not recall whether he had downloaded the file, but the application appeared to have been installed on his phone.Investigation revealed that the funds were transferred to accounts in HDFC Bank, City Union Bank, and Airtel Payments Bank.After registering complaints through the cybercrime helpline, Pancholi approached the cybercrime police and filed a formal complaint. Investigators are now probing how the APK file was installed on the victim’s phone and how fraudsters allegedly gained access to his banking credentials and transactions.Cybercrime officials have repeatedly cautioned citizens against downloading APK files received through messaging platforms, particularly those claiming to offer govt-related services or benefits.
