Scammers are getting a lot more creative these days and are finding new ways to dupe people online. One of the most common scam these days is the WhatsApp Wedding Invite scam that has made a lot of people suffer financial losses. In a recent unfortunate event, Noor Nahid Khan, a 42-year old businessman from Bengaluru, got trapped in the same scam and lost a considerable amount of money to it as well.
He tapped on a message received on WhatsApp, which said, ‘We’re happy to invite you to our wedding. Kindly download the attached invitation for complete details of the ceremony. Your presence and blessings will make our special day truly memorable. We look forward to celebrating this beautiful moment with you.’
When Khan clicked on the same, an APK file followed the text. Now, not knowing about anything, I downloaded the files and also provided device access to the senders. Things when south when the victim received messages between 4:45 to 4:54 AM that around Rs 5,00,440 was debited from his account via multiple UPI transactions.
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As stated by the police, the APK file was allegedly used to install a mobile application outside the Google Play Store without letting the receiver know. Via this, the sender may have got the permission to access several other applications like Google Pay, bank apps, Camera, and more.
On the basis of the complaint, police have also registered a case of identity theft and cheating against unknown persons under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Furthermore, a case has also been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Investigators of the case suggest that the same message and APK file have been circulated to several other mobile users across the city as part of a larger cyber fraud operation.