Mumbai: Fraudsters luring victims over pending e-challans, say police

The LT Marg police have booked a gang for allegedly duping people in a new cyber fraud where victims are lured into downloading malicious files, after which money is siphoned off their bank accounts.

Police said the cybercriminals approached the victims on the pretext of pending e-challans via text messages. Two such cases were registered at the LT Marg police station in the span of two months. “The message the victims received looked like it was sent by mParivahan,” said a police officer. mParivahan is a government app developed by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that provides access to various transport-related services and information. 

“In this case, the victims received messages stating their e-challans were due and urging them to make urgent payments. The due amount was mentioned, and once the victims attempted to make the payment, they were directed to a link where the transaction was supposed to be completed,” the official added.

A victim told mid-day that the link led to the download of an .apk file, which was then installed on their mobile phone. An .apk file, or Android Package Kit, is the file format used to distribute and install applications on Android devices.

“The .apk file was downloaded when the victim clicked the link. It appeared as though the mParivahan app was being installed, but no such app actually got downloaded. Instead, it was a malicious application—a software that gives cybercriminals access to the victim’s phone and all the data stored on the device,” explained a cyber cell officer.

In most cases, cyber fraudsters use personal and sensitive information from a victim’s device to siphon money from their bank accounts. “Typically, the money is transferred to other bank accounts. But in this case, the fraudsters used the stolen money to book movie or event tickets,” the officer said. 

“The money was used to purchase tickets in the form of coupons, which were then resold separately to generate profit. This type of cyber fraud allows the perpetrators to remain untraceable. It’s a new form of cybercrime we have come across,” the officer added. According to the police, the group so far is believed to have duped at least Rs 3.5 lakh from several victims. 

Following a month-long investigation, the LT Marg police said they managed to trace the mastermind behind the operation. Two persons have been identified, and their arrests are expected soon, confirmed police officers privy to investigations.