A couple in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district allegedly lost ₹9.84 lakh from their joint bank account through six unauthorised online transactions while they were away at a temple and their children were using mobile phones at home.
The incident was reported from Manorama Colony.
According to police, Vinita Jain, 46, and her husband Amitosh Jain hold a joint account with the Civil Lines branch of IndusInd Bank.
They had gone to a Jain temple on September 17, leaving their mobile phones at home.
When they returned around an hour later, their son and daughter were playing games on the devices.
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Six Transactions Drain ₹9.84 Lakh
After taking back her phone, Vinita checked the messages and found six bank alerts showing that money had been debited from the joint account.
Four transactions were for ₹2 lakh each.
Two additional transactions were for ₹92,000 each.
Together, the six debits amounted to ₹9.84 lakh.
Amitosh also received transaction alerts on his phone.
The couple told police they had not authorised the payments.
Couple Immediately Approached Bank
After discovering the withdrawals, the couple went to the IndusInd Bank branch at Civil Lines and informed officials about the incident.
They also had the account secured to prevent further transactions.
Vinita then approached Gopalganj police and lodged a complaint against an unidentified person.
Police registered a case under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and began investigating the bank transactions and digital activity associated with the phones.
Did a Game Link Cause the Fraud?
The unusual detail in the case is that the children had been using the phones to play mobile games while the parents were away.
Local reports say an unfamiliar link may have been clicked during that period.
But that does not yet establish the technical cause of the fraud.
Police still need to determine whether the account was compromised through a malicious link, application, stolen banking credentials, remote access or some other method.
The investigation is therefore examining the phones and transaction records to reconstruct what happened before the six transfers.
Why Unknown Links Inside Games Can Be Risky
Mobile games and applications can display advertisements, pop-ups and links that send users outside the original app.
Most such advertisements are legitimate.
But malicious advertising can sometimes redirect users to fraudulent websites or pages designed to trick them into installing harmful software or entering sensitive information.
A simple click alone does not automatically give someone access to a bank account.
Usually, an attacker would need some additional path to obtain credentials, authentication information or control of the device.
That is why determining exactly what happened on the phones will be important in this case.
Police Trace Where the Money Went
Investigators are now examining where the six transactions were sent.
The beneficiary accounts and subsequent movement of the funds could help police identify the people involved.
Bank records will show the exact timestamps and destination accounts.
Investigators may also examine whether the money was rapidly moved onward through additional accounts, a common method used to make recovery more difficult.
The phones themselves could contain important evidence, including browser history, newly installed applications, suspicious permissions, messages or links opened around the time of the fraud.
Children Using Parents’ Phones Creates Additional Risk
The case also highlights a practical security problem inside households.
Children often use a parent’s primary smartphone for games or videos.
That same phone may contain banking applications, saved credentials, email accounts, OTP messages and other sensitive information.
If children click unfamiliar advertisements, download applications or approve permissions without understanding them, the device’s security can be weakened.
Parents can reduce this risk by using separate user profiles or child accounts where available, preventing installation of unknown applications and keeping banking apps protected with biometric or PIN authentication.
Police Have Not Identified Any Accused Yet
Gopalganj Police have registered the case against an unidentified accused.
No arrest has been reported so far.
The investigation is continuing into both the digital access route and the financial trail.
Until that examination is complete, it would be premature to state that the children’s gaming activity directly caused the loss.
The confirmed facts are that they were using the phones at the relevant time and that ₹9.84 lakh was subsequently found missing through six unauthorised transactions.
What this means for you
If children use the same phone that contains your banking apps, keep app installations and sensitive permissions locked behind a PIN or biometric check. If an unauthorised transaction occurs, contact the bank immediately and report the fraud through the national cybercrime helpline 1930 as quickly as possible.
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