Hyderabad: A retired bank employee from Barkatpura was cheated of Rs 12.99 lakh by cyber fraudsters who tricked him into installing a malicious mobile application under the pretense of submitting a ‘life certificate’ for pension purposes. The incident, which took place on October 4, has prompted police to issue renewed warnings against fake links circulating on social media.
The victim came across a Facebook post claiming to help pensioners of nationalised banks submit life certificates online. Believing it to be genuine, he clicked the link and entered his bank account details. Shortly after, he received a call from a person claiming to be a bank official, who also contacted him on WhatsApp using the bank’s logo as a display picture.
The fraudster sent an APK file, asking the retired employee to install it to “complete” the life certificate process. Trusting the sender, the victim installed the application. Later that evening, around 5:30 pm, he noticed multiple debit alerts and found that Rs 12.99 lakh had been withdrawn from his three savings accounts across different banks.
Authorities have urged citizens to be cautious and avoid clicking on links received via Facebook, WhatsApp, SMS, or email, even if they appear to be from banks or government departments. They also advised against installing mobile applications from unofficial sources, recommending that banking apps be downloaded only from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store.
Victims of online financial fraud can lodge complaints by calling the national cybercrime helpline at 1930 or visiting www.cybercrime.gov.in.
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