The incident came to light after the retired Army personnel received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number on September 11. The message contained a link to an APK file named “Pension Card Verification Retired Personnel.”
A 65-year-old retired Army personnel from Maharashtra’s Pune lost Rs 28.7 lakh after cybercriminals siphoned off the money through nine transactions in around three hours, following a fake pension verification message, police said.
The incident came to light after the man received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number on September 11. The message contained a link to an APK file named “Pension Card Verification Retired Personnel.”
Believing the message was related to his Army pension, the man downloaded and opened the file on his mobile phone.
Police suspect the APK was part of a remote-access fraud, in which cybercriminals attempt to gain access to a victim’s device and sensitive information by getting them to install a malicious application.
Soon after the file was opened, the man received a call from another number.
The caller introduced himself as a bank employee and told the retired soldier that he would assist him with formalities related to his pension account.
He was asked to keep his phone switched on.
Over the next few hours, the man received several OTPs on his mobile phone. The caller instructed him not to share the OTPs with anyone.