A courier worker from Ahmedabad's Raikhad area has reported losing Rs 3.01 lakh after installing an application through a link sent to his phone. The 39-year-old alleged that three payments were made using his SBI credit card without his consent.

Mohammad Junaid, who lives in Qadri Saheb's Chali, approached Gaikwad Haveli police on October 27 after discovering the transactions. His complaint names an unidentified person as responsible for the alleged fraud.

Link message and app install

Junaid told police he received a text message on October 16 with a link to download the OneCard application. He accessed the link and installed the app on his phone. On October 21, he began receiving one-time passwords linked to transactions on online service platforms.

Concerned by the messages, he switched off his mobile phone. He later received a transaction alert showing a charge of Rs 1.79 lakh on his SBI credit card, with the alert identifying Apple India as the merchant.

Fake bank call and two more charges

According to the complaint, Junaid then received a telephone call from someone claiming to represent SBI Card. The caller asked him to confirm whether he had approved the payment and reportedly told him to press one to confirm or two to deny it.

Before he could respond, another alert informed him that Rs 99,900 had been charged to the card. A check through the SBI application showed the transactions had been processed, he alleged. A further payment of Rs 21,400 was also reported, bringing the total across the three transactions to Rs 3,01,300.

Helpline call and police case

Junaid contacted the national cybercrime helpline on 1930 after suspecting he had been targeted by fraudsters. He later went to Gaikwad Haveli police station with his friend Sheikh Nadir Mohammad to submit a formal complaint.

Police have registered a case and are examining how the card details were obtained. Investigators are also looking into whether the app link or activity on the phone was connected to the unauthorised payments. The link between the download and the transactions has not yet been established.