Mumbai: In a shocking case of cyber fraud, cybercriminals allegedly hacked the mobile phone of a justice of the Bombay High Court and siphoned off Rs6.02 lakh from her credit card account using a malicious APK file. The incident came to light in South Mumbai, following which the police have registered a case against two unidentified mobile users.
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The Victim and the Setting
According to the FIR, the 57-year-old justice resides with her family on Jagannath Bhosale Marg in Cuffe Parade. On February 28 around 10 am, she attempted to contact the customer care of HDFC Bank regarding redemption of reward points accumulated on her credit card. However, she was unable to connect through the number she initially tried.
The justice then searched on Google for the bank’s credit card customer care number and called a number that appeared in the search results. The person who answered the call claimed to be a representative from HDFC Bank’s credit card department. When she inquired about redeeming her reward points, the caller sent her an 18 MB APK file titled “credit card.apk” via WhatsApp from another mobile number.
The caller instructed her to open the file and enter her credit card details. Since the file could not be opened on her Apple iPhone, the fraudster advised her to insert her SIM card into an Android phone and open the file there.
The Fatal Error
Trusting the caller, the justice inserted her SIM card into her domestic help’s Android phone and opened the APK file through WhatsApp. A webpage opened asking for details to redeem reward points. She entered her credit card number in the form and submitted it.
Within minutes, she began receiving email alerts indicating that transactions were being made from her credit card account. A total of Rs6,02,566 was debited from her account before she realised that she had been duped.
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She immediately contacted HDFC Bank’s credit card customer care and blocked the card. She also reported the incident to the national cybercrime helpline 1930 and lodged a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCCRP).
The Mumbai police have registered an FIR at the Cuffe Parade police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act, and the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000.
Police officials said the fraudsters gained unauthorised access to the justice’s mobile phone through the malicious APK file and diverted money from her HDFC credit card account to multiple destinations. Investigators are currently tracing the mobile numbers and bank accounts used in the crime to identify the accused.
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