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Rs 21 lakh for a traffic challan? Mumbai businessman duped in WhatsApp scam
Updated On: 03 January, 2026 08:02 AM IST | Mumbai | Samiullah Khan
Student, 25, from Surat arrested; cheated Malad-based businessman through a cyber fraud involving a fake traffic e-challan message
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Representation Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
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The North Cyber police have arrested a 25-year-old from Surat, Gujarat, allegedly linked to a cyber fraud gang that duped a Malad-based businessman of over Rs 21 lakh by sending him a malicious APK (Android Package Kit) file designed to appear as a traffic e-challan message on WhatsApp. The accused, Hardik Ashokbhai Borda, is a BCom student who was running an online business selling weighing machines. Police said he played a key role in a multi-layered cyber fraud racket that targeted victims by posing as the Regional Transport Office (RTO).
How it all unfolded
According to police, the complainant, a 42-year-old businessman residing in Malad East, had travelled to Gujarat in November 2025 to attend a wedding in the family. On November 17, while he was busy with wedding engagements, the businessman received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number containing a file named “RTO Challan”. Believing it to be a genuine traffic e-challan, he clicked on the file to verify the details. Unknowingly, he downloaded an APK file, which gave cyber fraudsters remote access to his mobile phone and banking applications. Within minutes, R11,33,880 and R10,39,326 were siphoned off from his and his wife’s bank accounts, respectively.
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