Archive · 8 Nov 2025
Hyderabad Constable Helps Pensioner Prevent Rs 5 Lakh Digital Fraud
Imagine a kind old person looking for a bank's phone number on Google to get their pension.
But, the number they found was a trick by bad guys!
These bad guys pretended to be from the bank and told the person to download a special app from WhatsApp.
Once the person installed the app, the bad guys could see everything on their phone, like secret codes.
They used these codes to take 10 lakh rupees from the person's bank account.
Thankfully, the person told the police, and a helpful constable, N. Srikanth Naik, quickly acted.
He helped remove the bad app and told the company that handled the money transfers to stop Rs 5 lakh.
Now, half of the stolen money is coming back to the person.
This shows how important it is to be very careful when looking for phone numbers online and to never download apps from unknown sources.
A pensioner in Hyderabad was targeted by cybercriminals impersonating bank officials after searching for bank contact details on Google.
The victim was instructed to download a malicious APK application via WhatsApp, which granted fraudsters remote access to his mobile phone and banking information.
The installed malware forwarded One-Time Passwords (OTPs) to the fraudsters, enabling them to illegally transfer Rs 10 lakh from the victim's bank account.
A Hyderabad city police constable, N. Srikanth Naik, assisted the victim by identifying and removing the malicious app and initiating action through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
Swift action resulted in Rs 5 lakh of the defrauded amount being blocked and processed for return to the victim.
- Who
- A pensioner in Hyderabad and Hyderabad city police constable N. Srikanth Naik.
- What
- A pensioner was targeted in a digital fraud attempting to steal Rs 10 lakh, but quick police action led to the recovery of Rs 5 lakh.
- When
- The incident occurred recently, with prompt police intervention leading to the blocking of funds.
- Where
- Hyderabad
- Why
- The victim was searching for a nationalized bank's contact number on Google to submit his life certificate and inadvertently contacted fraudsters who posed as bank officials.
Cybercriminals' Actions
Victim's Actions & Police Intervention
Method of Deception
Cybercriminals' Actions
Cybercriminals listed a fraudulent phone number on Google, impersonated bank officials, and instructed the victim to install a malicious APK application via WhatsApp for verification.
Victim's Actions & Police Intervention
The pensioner, seeking to submit his life certificate, contacted the fraudulent number, installed the APK, and followed instructions, unknowingly granting remote access and compromising his banking details.
Financial Loss and Recovery
Cybercriminals' Actions
The fraudsters exploited the compromised device to reroute OTPs, leading to unauthorized transactions and a total loss of Rs 10 lakh. They also attempted to hijack the victim's WhatsApp account to scam his contacts.
Victim's Actions & Police Intervention
A police constable assisted the victim in reporting the fraud, identifying and removing the malicious app, and subsequently blocking Rs 5 lakh of the defrauded amount through a payment gateway notice, which is being processed for return to the victim.
- Victim's Loss
- Rs 10 Lakh
- Amount Recovered
- Rs 5 Lakh (blocked and processed)
- Fraud Method
- Malicious APK installation via WhatsApp, granting remote access and OTP forwarding.
- Impersonation
- Bank officials
- Assisting Officer
- Constable N. Srikanth Naik
- Location
- Hyderabad
