Hyderabad: A 75-year-old resident of Habsiguda was scammed out of Rs 1,09,610 after clicking on a fake D-Mart advertisement on Facebook.
The victim had seen the ad offering groceries at Rs 298 and entered his contact details. After this on November 24, he received a call from an unknown person who claimed that the offer had been confirmed and sent an APK file through WhatsApp.
After the victim downloaded the file and entered his credit card details to make the Rs 298 payment, his phone went out of control, and OTPs started appearing.
Realising something was wrong, the victim informed his son, who helped him block the credit cards. However, the damage had been done as the fraudsters had already made three transactions totalling Rs 1,09,610 from the victim’s credit cards.
Public advisory
Citizens have been asked to be wary of offers on social media with unrealistic discounts and not to click on suspicious links and enter personal details. The police have also warned against installing malicious APK files via WhatsApp.
In case one falls victim to a fraud, they are urged to report the incident to the cybercrime helpline 1930 or their official website.
