Do not install an app unless you are absolutely sure about it, police have said following complaints of cyber fraud pouring in from different parts of the city.
On July 3, a resident of Parnasree, in the city’s southwest, said she had lost Rs 1.75 lakh after installing an app on her mobile phone.
Payel Chatterjee lodged a complaint with the cybercrime cell of the southwest division of Kolkata police saying a person who claimed to be an official from the bank where she holds an account called her recently.
“The person said he was aware that Chatterjee had a loan with the bank and uses her credit card to pay the EMIs. The caller told her that she could use the reward points of her credit card to pay the EMI. They sent her an Android package kit (APK) file bearing the bank’s name on her WhatsApp,” said a senior police officer.
Convinced about the proposal that would allow her to utilise her credit card reward points, Chatterjee installed the app on her phone and provided the necessary permissions to complete the formalities. She received three OTPs and in no time a little over Rs 1.75 lakh was charged on her credit card.
A senior police officer of the cyber wing said: “When someone sends an APK file and the user installs an unknown app using this file, the sender gets complete access to the data stored in the mobile phone....”
There have been instances where fraudsters have sent APK files to victims warning them that their bank accounts would be blocked if they did not immediately update their Aadhaar and PAN card details, the police said. These apps look similar to bank apps.
While investigating Chatterjee’s complaint, officers found that an amount close to Rs 1.73 lakh had been parked in an online wallet.
Over the next few days, the team followed up with the company and succeeded in recovering Rs 1.67 lakh, which was refunded to Chatterjee.
In a mail thanking the police for their work, Chatterjee said she has been assured of getting back the remaining amount.
Officers said Android phone users should ensure that “install from unknown sources” is disabled in the phone’s settings and that one should only download trusted applications from the Play Store.
Pilgrim duped
Two persons were arrested on Thursday for allegedly cheating a Haj pilgrim. Police said the two would lure victims posing as travel agents. They would book air tickets at a low price. They would allegedly cancel the tickets but did not pass on the refunds to the clients. The Haj pilgrim said in the complaint he had transferred Rs 10.24 lakh to the accused for.
