Overview

• The cyber crimes wing confirmed three Hyderabad residents lost a combined ₹4.85 lakh between September 16 and 20 after installing malicious APKs.
• A 47-year-old from Musheerabad lost ₹1.82 lakh from his HDFC Bank account after downloading an app named “RTO-E_CHALLAN.APK”.
• A 54-year-old from Chudi Bazar lost ₹1 lakh from his Punjab National Bank account, and a 34-year-old from Bholakpur lost ₹2,03,873 from Central Bank of India after apps including “Court Order R. T.O. APK” and “PM Kissan APK” were found on his phone.
• Investigators said the devices were compromised, one-time passwords were intercepted, and banking credentials were harvested following APK installs shared via SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, or social links.
• Police advise downloading apps only from Google Play or the Apple App Store and urge victims to report promptly via the 1930 helpline, cybercrime.gov.in, or WhatsApp/call 8712665171.