Ahmedabad doctor loses four lakh rupees in fake utility bill scam

A 67-year-old medical practitioner in Ahmedabad has been defrauded of 4.51 lakh rupees following a cyber scam involving a fake gas utility disconnection notice. The420.in and Gujarat Samachar both report that the victim was targeted through an online scheme threatening to cut off his household gas supply. The fraudster contacted the doctor to request payment for an alleged unpaid bill. [1][3]

According to The420.in, the victim, Prakashbhai Darji, resides at Prerna Tenament in Ahmedabad. He received an unsolicited WhatsApp call instructing him to clear a small outstanding balance to avoid disconnection. During the interaction, the fraudster used a malicious Android application package, or APK file, sent over WhatsApp to execute the theft. [1]

Narol police have registered a criminal case regarding the fraud under the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, The420.in reported. Officers have launched a formal investigation to analyze the digital paper trail left behind by the perpetrators. A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to 100,000 rupees. [1][6]

As FTMQ Security reported earlier, messaging platforms like WhatsApp are frequently leveraged in financial scams targeting residents across India. In previous incidents, victims were tricked into revealing sensitive account details or downloading unauthorized software after receiving fraudulent registration links or fake utility notices. [7]