Rajkot: A trader from the city, Sandeep Gandhi, 62, lost Rs 10.87 lakh to cyberfraud after he downloaded a malicious file on WhatsApp that was disguised as an RTO traffic challan.Gandhi filed a complaint at Rajkot City Cyber Crime police station against the unknown WhatsApp number holder under the Information Technology Act. According to his FIR, Gandhi received a file named “RTO TRAFFIC CHALLAN” from an unfamiliar number on Dec 26. Believing it to be a genuine challan for his vehicle, he downloaded it. The file did not open, and his phone froze soon after. The fraud came to light on Jan 6, after depositing a cheque for Rs 41,000, Gandhi found that his bank account had been emptied. Four transactions had drained more than Rs 10.87 lakh, transferring the money to several accounts. He then called the Cyber Crime helpline to report the fraud. Police sources said cyberfraud gangs increasingly use apps and files labelled “RTO Challan” to trick people into downloading them, gaining access to their devices and bank details and then stealing funds.
