Fake Parivahan App: Kerala's Kochi Cyber Crime Police has busted a big online fraud and arrested a gang of fraudsters from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. This gang was cheating people across the country through fake Parivahan mobile app. Police confirmed this scam on Sunday.
A person from Kerala was duped of Rs 85,000
This case came to light when a citizen from Ernakulam district filed a complaint on the National Cyber Reporting Platform (NCRP). The victim said that he was duped of Rs 85,000.
What did the police find?
In the investigation, information of more than 2700 vehicle owners was recovered from the mobile phones of the accused, who were from states like Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The gang was arrested on the basis of solid digital evidence
How was the online fraud carried out?
The gang used to send fake APK files on WhatsApp. These messages used to say that there are pending challans on your vehicle and to pay it, download the app from the given link. But this app was fake, which used to steal personal and banking information from the user's mobile as soon as it was installed.
A minor developed this app at the behest of a gang member
The shocking revelation in the police investigation was that the one who gave technical form to this scam was a 16-year-old boy. He developed this app at the behest of a gang member. The gang used to collect information about vehicles with the help of Telegram bots and then fraudulent messages were sent to the concerned numbers.
How can you stay safe
Prakash Kumar Pandey