A 50-year-old technology professional from Telecom Layout, Bengaluru, was defrauded of INR 2.65 lakh after unknowingly installing a malicious app disguised as a traffic fine payment link. The incident comes amid a surge of payment-related scams tied to the Karnataka government’s 50 per cent rebate scheme on traffic penalties.
Fake Rebate Feeders Strike with Malicious APK
The engineer, who was verifying unpaid traffic violations through a government portal on August 1, received a WhatsApp message containing an APK link, promising to facilitate fine payments. Once installed, the app compromised his phone, enabling fraudsters to siphon off funds in multiple unauthorised transactions across several accounts totalling INR 2.65 lakh.
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The police have registered a case at Kodigehalli police station and are currently tracking transaction records to locate the perpetrators. Authorities caution citizens against clicking unknown links or downloading APKs and emphasise that such cyber frauds exploit urgent, official-looking messages for legitimacy.
Official Rebate Months Fuel Fraudulent Opportunity
This scam gained traction just as Karnataka launched a one-time 50 per cent concession on pending traffic fines, valid between August 23 and September 12. On day one, approximately 1,48,747 cases were settled with collections peaking at INR four crore eighteen lakh. Cybersecurity experts warn that the rush to pay during the rebate window creates fertile ground for fraudsters to mislead motorists.
Law enforcement agencies advise the public to adopt secure payment channels only—such as the Karnataka State Police (KSP) app, BTP ASTraM, Traffic Management Centre portals, or Karnataka One and Bangalore Onewebsites. The Bengaluru Traffic Police urgently remind citizens that they will never send payment links via WhatsApp or SMS.