Handing over mobile phones to children for playing games proved costly for a homemaker after cyber fraudsters allegedly siphoned off ₹4.44 lakh from her bank account through a malicious APK file sent via WhatsApp.

A cyber fraud case has been registered after the victim reportedly lost ₹4,44,003 from her bank account following the download of a malicious APK file.

According to the complaint, an unknown person sent the APK file through WhatsApp to her mobile number on Fridau at 12.30 p.m. The file was allegedly downloaded when the complainant’s children were using the mobile phone to play games. Later, the complainant received SMS alerts stating that ₹4,44,003 had been debited from her Bank of India account. The complainant also received WhatsApp messages about the transactions. However, attempts to contact the sender reportedly yielded no response.

Based on the written complaint, the police registered a case under Section 66(D) of the IT Act and Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The police have launched an investigation to trace the unidentified cyber fraudsters and recover the stolen amount.

Authorities have advised the public not to download APK files or click on suspicious links received from unknown sources through messaging platforms, warning that such files may contain malware capable of stealing sensitive financial information.