I'm calling from your bank, install this APK now: How a scammer tried to steal my money and failed
It all starts with a phone call. “Hello, main Gopal bol raha hoon, UCO Bank se. Aapke account ka KYC nahi hua hai. Is process
It all starts with a phone call. “Hello, main Gopal bol raha hoon, UCO Bank se. Aapke account ka KYC nahi hua hai. Is process ko urgently complete karna hoga. Main WhatsApp par ek APK file bhej raha hoon. Process shuru karne ke liye use download kar lijiye. (Hello, this is Gopal from UCO Bank. You haven’t completed your KYC. It must be done urgently. I am sending you an APK file over WhatsApp. You are required to install it to start the process).” Read Full Story Now, getting a call from your bank isn’t obviously new or surprising. Banks may call you from time to time for a bunch of different things, even to sell you on the idea of a new credit card. But sometimes, you may receive a call from someone claiming to be from your bank hoping to scam you. This is precisely what happened with me recently. It is at this point, your sense of mind and awareness can help you, spot and walk away from being tricked. One of the ways scammers may try to fool you is through an APK scam. The caller on the other end appears calm and confident. Very professional. So much so that you’re likely to give them your full attention. I know I did. Even when this so-called Gopal told me my KYC was due, I heard him, with the kind of seriousness these things usually deserve. An incomplete KYC could be a problem after all even if deep inside I knew, I had completed by KYC a week ago. Maybe I missed something. But then, “Gopal” would go on to tell me about an APK file I must install to start the process and suddenly, all my radars were up.
That was the moment I realised it was a scam. No bank would ask you to install APK files sent over WhatsApp for KYC verification. I immediately disconnected the call without downloading anything and blocked the number. I forgot about the incident and went on with my life. But a few days later, I received another WhatsApp message, this time claiming to be from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Once again, the message was about KYC and instructed me to download an APK file. I blocked the sender without responding once again. Another number. Another APK file. Fortunately, I realised it was a scam before downloading anything. But everyone may not be so lucky. A few months ago, my father received a similar call and WhatsApp message asking him to download an APK file for a banking-related process. Curious to know what the bank wanted, he downloaded and installed the file. Soon afterwards, a sum of Rs 21,000 was debited from his bank account. According to him, the transaction took place within seconds, leaving him with almost no time to react. He immediately contacted the bank and later filed a complaint with the police. The case is currently under investigation. What’s baffling is that my father is not alone to face this. I spoke to a few other people and, to my surprise, several of them said they too had received similar calls or WhatsApp messages in recent weeks. In short, fraudsters appear to be increasingly using malicious APK files to trick people into compromising their phones. Once installed, these apps can potentially give attackers access to sensitive information and, in some cases, lead to financial fraud.
The BriefWire