Bengaluru woman duped of Rs 14.60 lakh after downloading fake Bescom app

Bengaluru: A 60-year-old woman from Vidyaranyapura lost Rs 14.60 lakh after downloading a fake Bescom app.

The malicious app, likely containing malware such as a Remote Access Trojan (RAT), gave the cybercriminals access to her phone. This enabled them to receive her bank's One Time Passwords (OTPs), officials said.

The woman, a professor, told the police that on November 25, she received a call from an unknown number. The caller claimed to be a Bescom official and said she had to pay Rs 12 to update her bill.

The woman was not alarmed as the amount was small and proceeded to download and install ‘Bescom Bill Update.apk’, which the cybercriminal shared with her on WhatsApp.

Subsequently, without her knowledge, OTPs were generated and forwarded to an unknown number belonging to the perpetrators.

The woman learnt that Rs 12.62 lakh was debited from her Canara Bank account and Rs 1.98 lakh from her ICICI Bank credit card.

Alarmed and realising it was cyberfraud, the woman contacted 1930, the national cybercrime helpline, and the city police. A probe is underway. 

Police officials have urged the public to refrain from clicking on unsolicited links from unknown senders or downloading suspicious apps onto their mobile phones.