Three Hyderabad residents lost money in separate cyber frauds after downloading or being tricked into installing malicious APK files that allowed fraudsters to gain remote access to their phones and carry out unauthorised bank transactions.
An officer from the cyber crimes wing of Hyderabad said that the first victim, a 39-year-old resident of Asif Nagar, received a WhatsApp link disguised as an SBI Credit Card update. After installing the file named SBI Credit Card.apk, his phone was compromised and transactions amounting to ₹1,42,881 were carried out from his SBI credit card.
In the second incident, a 43-year-old resident of Gudimalkapur in Karwan lost ₹1 lakh after fraudsters remotely installed an APK titled RTOEchallan.apk on his phone. The amount was transferred through IMPS even though he did not share an OTP or click any link.
In the third case, a 45-year-old Secunderabad resident was told by a caller posing as a YES Bank representative that his card required verification. He was instructed to download a file named YES Bank Credit Card.APK and enter his card details. Soon after, fraudulent transactions worth ₹1,48,380 were made from his YES Bank credit card.
The Cybercrime Unit has urged the public not to download APK files received through WhatsApp, SMS or social media links, warning that such files often mimic government services, banking platforms or RTO challan updates. Once installed, they allow fraudsters to take control of devices and steal sensitive financial information.
Published – November 14, 2025 08:34 pm IST
