Thane: A 61-year-old businessman from Thane city was allegedly duped of over Rs 20.16 lakh after downloading a malicious APK file sent under the guise of an RTO e-challan, said police.The victim, a resident of Majiwada, received a text message from an unknown number on March 31, claiming a pending traffic challan against his vehicle. The message carried a link to an APK file. Assuming it to be a legitimate govt communication, he downloaded and installed the application on his smartphone, inadvertently granting remote access to fraudsters, said the police.The officer added that the attackers then executed a series of unauthorised transactions over two days. Between April 13 and 14, a total of Rs 20.16 lakh was siphoned from his current and savings accounts with a Co-operative Bank Ltd, with most transactions taking place on the evening of April 13. The victim initially approached the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Following a preliminary inquiry, an FIR was registered at Kapurbawdi police station on April 15, under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, the official informed. Police said efforts are underway to trace the mobile number used to send the message and track the beneficiary bank accounts. No arrests have been made so far.
