A resident of Madhya Pradesh's Rewa has allegedly been duped of ₹1 lakh in a cyber fraud after fraudsters lured him into downloading a malicious APK file on the pretext of booking a doctor's appointment. The scammers allegedly accessed the victim's financial information, prematurely withdrew money from a fixed deposit and transferred the amount to a bank account in West Bengal.

Following the complaint, Civil Lines police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the cyber fraud.

Doctor Search Led to Fraud

According to police, the victim, Rajeshwari Prasad Dwivedi, was searching for the contact details of Dr. Devesh Agrawal through the Justdial platform. Shortly after making the enquiry, he received a phone call from a person claiming to assist with the doctor's appointment.

The caller sent a link asking the victim to download an APK file, claiming it was required to generate an appointment receipt for a nominal payment of ₹5. Trusting the caller, the victim downloaded the application.

No money was deducted immediately, leading the victim to believe the process was genuine.

Fraud Detected the Next Day

The following day, the caller informed the victim that the doctor would not be available because it was Sunday and that the appointment would instead be scheduled for Monday.

Soon afterwards, another call raised the victim's suspicion. He checked his financial records and discovered that ₹1 lakh had been withdrawn from a ₹2 lakh fixed deposit held in his son's name with Muthoot Finance.

Police said the fraudsters had managed to prematurely encash part of the fixed deposit and transfer the money to a bank account in West Bengal.

Money Withdrawn Through ATM

Preliminary investigation revealed that after receiving the funds, the accused withdrew ₹70,000 through ATMs in Kolkata, while efforts are underway to trace the remaining amount and identify those involved in the transaction.

Investigators are examining the digital trail and coordinating with financial institutions and cybercrime agencies to identify the beneficiaries of the fraudulent transfers.

Police Warn Against APK Downloads

Civil Lines Police Station in-charge Ashish Mishra said the fraud was executed after the victim unknowingly installed a malicious APK application on his mobile phone.

"Initial investigation has confirmed that ₹1 lakh was fraudulently withdrawn from the fixed deposit and transferred to a bank account in West Bengal. Around ₹70,000 has already been withdrawn. The investigation is continuing," Mishra said.

Advisory for Citizens

Police have advised citizens not to download APK files received through SMS, messaging apps or unknown links, especially when shared by unverified callers claiming to offer banking, healthcare or customer support services.

Officials have also urged people to verify appointment bookings only through hospitals' official websites, verified mobile applications or authorised contact numbers. Anyone suspecting cyber fraud has been advised to immediately contact the National Cyber Crime Helpline (1930) and report the incident through the official cybercrime reporting portal to improve the chances of recovering the stolen money.

Authorities continue to remind the public that cyber criminals frequently exploit online service requests by impersonating legitimate organisations and convincing victims to install malicious applications capable of accessing sensitive financial information.