Bengaluru bizman loses Rs 5L after phone hacked via WhatsApp wedding invite

Bengaluru: Downloading a wedding invite on WhatsApp cost a furniture shop owner Rs 5 lakh after cyber fraudsters gained remote access to his mobile phone, police said.

The 42-year-old Nayandahalli resident downloaded a file named "Wedding Apk File Invitation" sent from a number belonging to an acquaintance. The moment he clicked on the APK file, it handed remote access of his device to the fraudsters.

Multiple transactions were then carried out in his bank account without his knowledge, draining Rs 5 lakh.

By the time he realised what had happened, the money was gone. He lodged a police complaint suspecting a cyberattack.

Police have registered a case under Section 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 66C (identity theft) and 66D (cheating by personation using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act, and launched an investigation.