Scam of Fake RTO Challan APK File: Cyber Cell Arrests Surat Entrepreneur for Rs 21 Lakh Deception
Scam of Fake RTO Challan APK File: A 25-year-old businessman was detained by the North Region Division’s Cyber Cell for reportedly defrauding a Malad-based businessman and his spouse out of around ₹21 lakh by emailing a phony APK link under the guise of an RTO challan. Hardik Ashokbhai Borda, a resident of ABC Chowk in Surat, Gujarat, has been identified as the culprit.
According to police, Borada is charged with giving bank accounts to internet scammers so they may defraud online. Milan Kaushik Barot, Vishal Jadavani, Bambroliya, Sureshbhai Popatbhai Chauhan, and a few more suspects were found to have been involved throughout the inquiry. The other suspects are being tracked down and apprehended.
Bhaven, a Malad resident and the complaint, is involved in business with his brother. He went to his bank on December 1st to update both his and his wife Hetal’s passbooks. He found that ₹11,33,880 had been taken out of his account and ₹10,39,326 had been taken out of his wife’s account, for a total of ₹21,71,782. He reported the suspicious activities right away to the bank manager, who verified that many unauthorized internet transactions had been made from both accounts after further investigation.
The bank manager then suggested that the couple go to the police. The North Cyber Cell was then contacted with a complaint. Police looked at Bhaven’s phone throughout the investigation and discovered that he had received an APK file from an unidentified individual on November 17. Bhaven opened the file while attending a wedding event in Ahmedabad, but he did not give it any thought. Under the pretense of an RTO challan, the cybercriminals reportedly exploited this to get unauthorized access to his and his wife’s bank accounts and siphon off the money.
The cyber police followed the money trail after filing a complaint against unidentified individuals and discovered that the stolen funds had been moved into eight separate bank accounts. These accounts were registered in the names of Surat citizens Milan Kaushik Barot, Vishal Jadavani, Bambroliya, and Sureshbhai Popatbhai Chauhan. As a result, a cyber cell team was sent to Surat to do more research.
It was discovered during questioning that some of the stolen money had been moved to a joint bank account owned by Milan Barot and Hardik Borda. It is said that Borda created the account and gave the scammers access to its information. He allegedly earned a 2.5% fee on the money sent via his account in exchange. Borada obtained ₹3.70 lakh when the illegal funds were deposited to his account, according to the police.
These conclusions led to Borda’s detention from Surat’s Kiran Chowk–Nilkanth Plaza neighborhood and his subsequent transportation to Mumbai, where he was officially arrested. Two SIM cards and a cell phone were confiscated from him by the police. Additionally, investigators discovered that Borada’s bank account had been credited with around ₹9 lakh, which he purportedly disposed of with the assistance of Ridhum Dhameliya.
To find the remaining suspects and track down the money that was diverted, further investigation is being conducted.