Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru/Karkala
Mangaluru/Karkala, May 21: Two separate cyber fraud cases reported from Mangaluru and Udupi districts have left victims poorer by more than Rs 4 lac, with fraudsters using a malicious APK link in one case and a fake stock market investment scheme in another.
In the first incident reported from Surathkal in Mangaluru, a man was allegedly cheated of Rs 2,24,800 after clicking a malicious APK link sent from a known contact’s mobile number.
According to the complaint lodged at the Surathkal police station, the victim received an APK link on April 24 from a friend’s mobile number along with a message referring to an ‘RTO challan’.
After clicking the link, he was redirected to a page asking him to enter his Gmail ID and mobile number. Soon after entering the details, his WhatsApp stopped functioning and his SIM card also became inactive. The victim later purchased a new SIM card, but on April 28 he began receiving alerts about unauthorised debit transactions from his bank account.
On approaching the bank, he discovered that a total of Rs 2,24,800 had been transferred in multiple instalments to unknown accounts.
The complainant alleged that unidentified persons had fraudulently accessed his account and siphoned off the money.
A case has been registered and investigation is in progress.
In another incident reported from Karkala in Udupi district, a man identified as Ganesh was allegedly cheated of Rs 2 lac after being lured into investing in an online stock market scheme promising high returns.
According to the complaint, an unidentified person contacted Ganesh on January 23 and convinced him to invest in the stock market by assuring substantial profits. Believing the claims to be genuine, he transferred a total of Rs 2,00,000 in multiple instalments from his bank account.
However, after receiving the money, the accused neither provided any returns nor refunded the principal amount and allegedly cheated him through online transactions.
Based on the victim’s complaint, a case has been registered at the Karkala Town police station and further investigation is under way.