Ahmedabad: IT engineer clicks reel link, loses Rs 25,000

Ahmedabad: An IT engineer from Sola lost Rs 25,000 to cyber fraudsters after allegedly downloading a suspicious application while scrolling through Instagram reels. A complaint was registered with Sola police on May 31.

According to the FIR, the 43-year-old complainant works as an engineer with a private IT company in Ahmedabad and uses a UPI-linked Google Pay account connected to his savings account.

The victim told police that on the night of May 1, while browsing Instagram reels at home, he clicked on an unfamiliar video link. Shortly thereafter, an unknown application was automatically downloaded onto his mobile phone. Finding the app suspicious after installation, he promptly uninstalled it.

However, three days later, on May 4, while checking his Google Pay account, he discovered that Rs 25,000 had been debited from his bank account without his knowledge. On reviewing the transaction details, he found that the money had been transferred through a UPI transaction to an unknown account.

Police said the victim had neither initiated nor authorised the transaction and suspects that cybercriminals gained access to his device and banking credentials through the malicious application.

Immediately after discovering the unauthorised transfer, the complainant contacted the national cybercrime helpline and reported the incident. He was issued an acknowledgement number and he later approached the police to lodge a formal complaint.

Police officers said the fraud may have been carried out using malware or a remote-access mechanism embedded in the downloaded application.

Sola police have registered a case of online cheating and initiated an investigation to trace the beneficiary account and the individuals behind the fraud.