A 53-year-old Mumbai police man lost Rs 1.6 lakh after his smartphone, given for routine repairs, was allegedly hacked and used to siphon off his savings. The complainant discovered multiple unauthorised debits from his bank accounts on August 16, including transactions routed through digital wallets, along with some links auto-forwarded from his number.

The victim, Ketan (name changed), has served in the police force for decades. Trusting a Tardeo-based mobile repair shop with his mobile phone, which began to overheat, he handed over the phone to the shop owner.

In his statement, Ketan said that the technician in the shop swapped the battery as the previous battery, he claimed, was faulty. But the problem persisted with the new battery as well when Ketan took the phone back again. For advanced repairs, the phone was taken back, this time for a couple of days.  Trusting him, Ketan even shared his unlock password for the phone. Days later, the device was returned.