Archive · 6 Jan 2026
Navi Mumbai Woman Loses ₹11 Lakh in Fake Refrigerator Scam
A 59-year-old woman in Navi Mumbai wanted to fix her broken refrigerator.
She found a fake customer care number online and called it.
The person on the phone asked her to download an app and pay ₹10.
After she did that, the fraudsters took ₹11.05 lakh from her bank accounts.
The police are now investigating the scam and advising people to be careful with unknown apps and numbers.
A 59-year-old woman lost ₹11.05 lakh after falling for a fake refrigerator customer care scam.
Fraudsters posed as customer care executives and tricked her into downloading a malicious APK file.
The scam resulted in unauthorized withdrawals from three of her bank accounts.
Police have registered a case under cheating and the Information Technology Act.
Authorities advise verifying customer care numbers only from official sources and reporting suspected fraud.
- Who
- A 59-year-old woman from New Panvel, Navi Mumbai
- What
- Lost ₹11.05 lakh in a fake refrigerator customer care scam
- When
- December 20, 2023
- Where
- Navi Mumbai, India
- Why
- Due to downloading a malicious APK file sent by fraudsters posing as customer care executives
- Victim's Age
- 59 years
- Amount Lost
- ₹11.05 lakh
- Scam Type
- Fake customer care
- Date of Incident
- December 20
- Police Action
- Case registered under cheating and IT Act
- Fraudster's Name
- Ram Shankar Patil (claimed)
- Initial Payment Demanded
- ₹10 via Google Pay
- Police Advisory
- Avoid downloading unknown apps and verify numbers from official sources
