Several residents across Hyderabad have fallen victim to a new wave of cyber frauds involving malicious APK files shared through WhatsApp and SMS links, leading to unauthorised withdrawals from their bank accounts.
In one case, a 29-year-old man from Domalguda installed an application named, pmkisan.apk, believing it to be linked to a government scheme. Soon after, ₹1 lakh was fraudulently debited from his bank account.
In another incident, a 41-year-old resident of Mangalhat received a WhatsApp link to download RTO e-challan.apk. After installation, his net banking credentials were compromised, resulting in unauthorised transactions totalling ₹1.47 lakh.
A third victim, while searching online for car rentals, was directed to a fake website. After paying ₹149 as confirmation fee, a malicious app named shriramcarrentals.apk was automatically installed on his phone. Fraudsters then made continuous debits that totalled ₹2.60 lakh.
Investigators said the cases reflect a growing trend where fraudsters disguise harmful apk files as legitimate government, transport, or business services to steal banking credentials and drain victims’ accounts.
