Gone in 7 minutes: Cyber crooks con Hyderabad's national police academy staff of 1.7 lakh

HYDERABAD: An employee working with the health department in the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad was duped of 1.17 lakh by cyber crooks. The thugs lured the 27-year-old under the pretext of installing an application named ‘PM HEALTH CARE_b80.apk' and siphoned off funds from his and his wife's accounts.
Police said the amount was deducted in six transactions in seven minutes. Cyber crime police of Cyberabad have registered a case. According to police, he received a call from an unidentified number a few days ago asking for details of his credit card though he did not have a credit card.
When he told them the same, they informed him that he was eligible for benefits under the PM healthcare scheme and sent him an APK file to download and claim the benefit. He downloaded the app and uploaded his bank account details in the app. Later, he also had a WhatsApp video call with the criminals where they explained the scheme to him. A few minutes later, 1.17 lakh was deducted from his account and his wife's account, which were linked to his mobile number.
Surprisingly, when the police academy staffer raised a complaint and the accounts used by the criminals were frozen, the fraudsters claimed they could unfreeze the account and send the money back. They also attempted to compromise by pressuring him to withdraw the complaint he lodged with the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).
Investigators said that as a thumb rule, people should not download any APK files sent from any person, particularly from strangers or unidentified sources. "People should also always remember to verify with the departments concerned or govt's official websites on such schemes, if any, are available and their application procedures instead of falling into such traps and losing money," an official suggested.