A sitting judge at a city court in Mumbai fell prey to cyber fraud, losing Rs 93,000 to cybercriminals who exploited a malicious customer care app to access his banking details. The 46-year-old judge, stationed at the Small Causes Court, sought technical help for a display issue on his mobile phone on March 30. While looking for assistance online, he dialed a contact number claiming to be Samsung customer care, connecting him to a scammer posing as a support executive.
The fraudster, as per Mumbai Police, sent an APK file to the judge via WhatsApp and directed him to download it, along with paying a Rs 20 registration fee through Google Pay. Unaware of the scam, the judge complied, allowing the fraudster to remotely access his device and sensitive banking data. Subsequently, two unauthorized transactions totaling Rs 93,000 were carried out from his State Bank of India (SBI) account, prompting the victim to seek police help.
A First Information Report (FIR) was filed by the Mumbai Police at the Tardeo Police Station against an unidentified suspect, with an ongoing investigation. In a separate incident on the same day, a 25-year-old man from Jharkhand was arrested for allegedly defrauding a Bombay High Court judge of Rs 6.02 lakh in a cyber scam. The accused, identified as Mazhar Alam Israil Miyan from Jamtara, a region associated with cybercrime, was involved in numerous fraud cases across 10 states.
