In a recent case of cyber fraud in Pune, a senior technical officer working for the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) became a victim of a remote access scam, losing Rs 13 lakh. The fraudsters tricked her by posing as bank officials, claiming that her KYC details needed to be updated urgently to prevent her bank account from being frozen. According to the report, in November 2024, the woman received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number stating that her KYC update was pending. The message included a warning that failure to update the details would result in her bank account being frozen. Along with the message, the unknown sender provided a file and instructed her to download it.
Believing the message to be genuine, the victim downloaded the file on her smartphone. Unfortunately, the file contained a malware application that granted remote access to her phone. Shortly after, the victim received multiple OTPs, which she ignored, as she had not made any transactions.
The cybercriminals used the remote access to withdraw nearly Rs 13 lakh from her bank account. The victim noticed the unauthorized transactions after receiving notifications and immediately reported the incident to the Pune City Cyber Police Station. A preliminary investigation led to the filing of an FIR at the Yerwada Police Station.