Cyber fraudsters in Mumbai have stepped up their scam tactics, moving beyond fake gas disconnection messages sent to Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL) consumers.
The scammers now send links to malicious APK files, claiming they allow users to check pending bills. Once downloaded, these files hack the victim’s phone, giving fraudsters access to banking apps and sensitive data, which is then used to siphon money from their accounts.
How a Retired Govt Employee in Mumbai Got Scammed?
In a recent fraud case, a 67-year-old retired government employee was defrauded of Rs 10 lakh by a fraudster posing as an MGL agency official, according to a TOI report.
The fraudster texted him that his MGL bill was not paid, and further sent an APK file link on WhatsApp, along with the sender's display profile showing the name and logo of Mahanagar Gas.
After the man downloaded the APK file, he received a bank text message that Rs 2 lakh was debited from his account.
The elderly man updated his bank account after a few days and noticed that there had been several transactions made, and a total of Rs 10 lakh had been debited.
After getting suspicious, he lodged a police complaint and an FIR under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, and Information Technology Act sections for identity theft and cheating by impersonation using computer resources, PSI Abhay Kadam of Panvel told TOI.
In a similar incident, a man from Koparkhairane, 71, lost Rs 12 lakh in the MGL Bill payment fraud. The scammers used the same modus operandi and sent him a link on WhatsApp, crediting Rs 12 lakh to their account.
Mumbai Lost Rs 2,000 Crore in 5 Years to Cyber Fraud
In the past five years, Mumbai has witnessed a sharp spike in cyber fraud cases, including ATM frauds, card cloning, data stealing, OTP sharing and many more. The city has lost more than Rs 2000 crore in five years in nearly 20,000 cases; however, recoveries remain quite minimal.
The victims are falling prey to these cyber frauds not just by sophisticated scammers but also by banks that routinely refuse reimbursement despite RBI's zero-liability rules, according to a TOI report.
Out of all these cases reported in Mumbai, 4132 FIRs were for credit or debit card fraud, ATM fraud, SIM swap, cloning, activation and OTP sharing, which counted for Rs 165 crore; however, police just recovered Rs 4.8 crore.
