Coimbatore district cyber crime police have registered three cases after residents lost a combined Rs 7.79 lakh in separate online scams involving a fake traffic challan application, an insurance refund promise and a KYC update call.
In the first case, K Karthikeyan, 27, a private company employee from Karumathampatty, received an Android application package, or APK file, through WhatsApp. The file was presented as an RTO traffic challan application. After downloading and installing it, Karthikeyan entered personal details, including his Aadhaar and mobile numbers.
The report said unauthorised activity was subsequently detected on his KVB Bank account. A total of Rs 4.79 lakh was transferred to multiple suspect accounts without his knowledge. The case illustrates how a message linked to a familiar public-service process was used to direct a recipient towards malicious software and obtain personal information.
In the second incident, S Sreedevi, 43, a private school teacher from Siruvani near Nallur Vayal, received a call from a person claiming to represent HDFC ERGO General Insurance. The caller allegedly promised a refund on an insurance policy. Sreedevi shared her credit card details, a one-time password and a cancelled cheque after believing the claim, according to the report.
The caller then transferred Rs 1.75 lakh to three different accounts. The incident involved a combination of impersonation, a promised financial benefit and the sharing of payment-related information over a phone call.
The third complaint was filed by C Murugalakshmi, 49, from Valparai. She received a WhatsApp call from a person claiming to be an Indian Bank representative and was instructed to share an OTP for a KYC update. After sharing her details, she lost Rs 1.24 lakh between October 21 and 23, the report said.
Together, the three cases show how online financial fraud can operate through different points of contact used in everyday urban and semi-urban life: messaging applications, bank accounts, insurance services, credit cards and identity-linked KYC processes. The reported victims were from different occupations and locations in the Coimbatore district, including Karumathampatty, Siruvani and Valparai.
The scams also involved different forms of deception. The first used a digitally distributed application linked to a traffic enforcement process. The second relied on a call presenting itself as an insurance-company communication. The third used a banking identity and a KYC-related request. In each case, the fraud allegedly depended on obtaining access to personal, banking or authentication information.
The cases underline the expanding role of cyber crime policing in handling financial complaints that originate through digital platforms but produce direct losses from bank and card accounts. The reported amount in the three complaints ranges from Rs 1.24 lakh to Rs 4.79 lakh, with the largest loss linked to the fraudulent APK file.
The Coimbatore district cyber crime police have begun investigations into all three complaints. The cases involve transfers to suspected accounts and are being examined by the police, according to the report.
