A cyber fraud in Ahmedabad’s Vatva GIDC has led to a loss of ₹10.7 lakh after scammers used a fake e-challan app to hack a company accountant’s phone and access his bank accounts, police said.
According to the complaint, accountant Vipul Patel received an app file on WhatsApp on February 19 from the number of factory owner Jayantibhai Patel, asking him to check an RTO memo. Trusting the message, he downloaded the app and entered personal details such as his name, mobile number, and mother’s name before deleting it. However, by then, his phone had already been compromised.
The next day, Patel began receiving debit alerts. When he checked with the bank on February 21, he found several unauthorised transactions. These included ₹4.5 lakh taken as an instant loan, ₹5.31 lakh as a jumbo loan through a banking app, and multiple withdrawals of ₹5 lakh, ₹2.6 lakh, ₹2.5 lakh, and ₹60,000 from a joint account, totalling ₹10.7 lakh.
Investigators said the fraudsters first hacked the factory owner’s phone and then used it to send the malicious file, making it appear genuine. Once installed, the app gave them access to the accountant’s phone, allowing them to take loans and transfer money.
Police have registered a case and started an investigation, calling it a growing scam method involving hacked contacts and malicious apps. Authorities have advised people not to download unknown files from messaging apps and to verify such requests before acting.