Power utility engineer loses 10L in APK con in Hingoli

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A superintending engineer of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) lost Rs10 lakh to cyber criminals after downloading a malicious APK file under the pretext of clearing pending gas pipeline dues for his Mumbai residence.According to the police, the victim — identified as R M Chavan and posted in Hingoli — received a call on April 5 from a person who introduced himself as Deepak Joshi. The caller claimed that dues for the Mumbai Metropolitan Gas pipeline at Chavan's flat were pending and warned that supply would be disconnected if the payment was not made immediately.Believing the caller, Chavan agreed to clear the dues. The fraudster then sent him an APK file on his mobile phone, asking him to download it to proceed with the payment process. Soon after installing the file, the accused asked Chavan to share a one-time password (OTP), which he did.Hingoli SP Nilabh Rohan said once the OTP was shared, the fraudsters gained access to Chavan's mobile phone and banking details. Shortly thereafter, they stopped communications and siphoned off Rs10 lakh from his bank account in two transactions of Rs5 lakh each. Chavan did not receive any SMS alerts from the bank regarding the transactions. It was only after he checked his email later that he discovered the two transactions made on April 5.Realising that he had been duped, Chavan approached the Hingoli city police and lodged a complaint. Based on his complaint, a case was registered on Thursday under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and cheating.