A couple from Ahmedabad’s Amraiwadi area lost ₹1.89 lakh after a cyber fraudster allegedly hacked their mobile phone through a fake APK file sent on WhatsApp. The fraudster had promised to convert credit card reward points into ₹9,500 in cash.
Ramol police have registered a case and started an investigation.
According to the complaint, Tusharkumar Patel, who works at a private plastic company in Rakhial, received a call from an unknown number on September 7. The caller introduced himself as Karan from Axis Bank and told Patel that his good CIBIL score had earned him 12,598 credit card reward points, which could be redeemed for ₹9,500 in cash.
The caller then sent a link on WhatsApp and asked Patel to download an Axis Bank application. After Patel downloaded and installed the APK file, his OnePlus phone was allegedly hacked.
Soon after, Patel received another WhatsApp call from an unknown number. During the conversation, ₹80,000 and ₹60,000 were withdrawn from his wife’s Axis Bank credit card, totalling ₹1.40 lakh. The fraudster allegedly kept Patel engaged by assuring him that the money would be refunded shortly.
Meanwhile, another ₹49,998 was withdrawn from Patel’s State Bank of India credit card, taking the total loss to ₹1,89,998.
When Patel threatened to approach the police, the caller disconnected. The couple first reported the incident to the Cyber Crime Helpline at 1930 and later filed a complaint with Ramol police.