Fake Electricity Bill Message Costs Elderly Man ₹1.44 Lakh In Indore

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): An elderly man was allegedly cheated of Rs 1.44 lakh by cyber fraudsters who posed as electricity department officials and tricked him into installing a malicious mobile application in the Annapurna area, police said on Thursday.

According to the police, Shantanu Naik, a resident of the Annapurna area, informed police that the incident took place on July 19. His father, Pramod Naik, received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number claiming to be from the electricity department.

The message warned that the family's power supply would be disconnected at 9.30 pm because their electricity bill had not been updated. It asked him to contact another mobile number immediately.

When the complainant's father called the number, the caller claimed that the electricity bill had not been reflected in the department's system, even though it had already been paid. The fraudster then sent an APK file and asked him to install it and make a payment of Rs 12 to update the records.

As the elderly man was not familiar with online payments, the caller started a video call, guided him through several phone settings and allegedly gained access to his mobile screen. The caller then asked for his bank account details, debit card numbers and PINs. After an unsuccessful attempt with one bank account, the fraudster obtained details of another account.

A short while later, Rs 98,500, Rs 24,625, Rs 9,999, Rs 10,000 and Rs 1,400 were debited from the account, taking the total loss to Rs 1,44,524.

A case has been registered, and police have started an investigation into the cyber fraud. Police advised people not to install APK files received from unknown sources or share banking details, debit card information or PINs over the phone or through video calls.