A 28-year-old man, Dheeraj Giri, was arrested by the police on Saturday after he defrauded a Mattancherry resident of Rs 10 lakh using a malicious app. The scam began on October 31 when the victim received an SMS containing a link that, when clicked, installed an APK file on the victim’s phone. The malicious app gained access to the victim’s mobile banking apps and OTPs, allowing the fraudster to transfer money from the victim’s bank account without their knowledge.
Between 10 pm on October 31 and 8 am on November 1, the victim’s Rs 10 lakh was transferred to 39 different bank accounts in 41 transactions. The police began tracking the accounts involved in the transfers, discovering that the accused had used the stolen money to buy game credits, which he later converted into cash to hide his tracks.
Following a detailed investigation, which included tracing the URL used to create the APK file and tracking mobile phone numbers and IP addresses, the police identified Dheeraj Giri as the mastermind behind the fraud. Further inquiry revealed that he had previously been involved in a similar scam in Bengaluru, where another victim lost Rs 1.20 crore.
The police tracked Giri to his premium apartment in Noida, where they arrested him. During the search, they recovered 20 bank passbooks, numerous ATM cards, chequebooks, SIM cards, and premium smartphones, alongside luxury items, including cars. Giri was brought to Kochi and presented in court, where he was remanded into judicial custody. The police plan to file a petition for his custody to continue their investigation.
