Mumbai: Retired Railway Employee Duped of ₹3 Lakh in Cyber Fraud, Accused Posed as DRM

A shocking case of cyber fraud has come to light in Mumbai, where fraudsters targeted a railway employee who 
retired just last month by posing as a Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) from Central Railway. The accused sent a fake APK file via WhatsApp, gained access to his mobile phone, and siphoned off nearly ₹3 lakh from his pension account. 

Shockingly, even after a complaint was registered, the fraudsters tried to cheat him again by calling and asking for more money. The Navghar police have started an investigation into the case.

According to the police, the victim retired from Indian Railways on March 31, 2026. On April 9, he received a call from an unknown number. The caller introduced himself as an officer from the DRM office at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and said that some details needed to be updated to speed up the pension process.

To gain his trust, the accused shared accurate personal and banking details of Mudaliar. He then sent an APK file with the Indian Railways logo on WhatsApp and asked him to open it and fill in the required information. Although Mudaliar was initially suspicious, he eventually opened the file but did not enter any details.

Police said the APK file allowed the cyber fraudsters to gain remote access to his mobile phone. On the night of April 12, a total of ₹2,99,998 was withdrawn from his pension account through four separate transactions. He came to know about the fraud on April 13 after receiving bank alert messages.

After realising he had been cheated, Mudaliar immediately went to the bank and got his account frozen. He also filed a complaint on the cyber helpline (1930) and formatted his mobile phone to prevent further misuse.

Surprisingly, even after the complaint was filed, the fraudsters called him again on April 14, attempting to extract more information under the pretext of activating his pension. However, this time Mudaliar remained alert and did not share any details.

Police said this is a new method of cyber fraud, where scammers use the names and logos of government departments to gain trust and then take full control of victims’ mobile phones through APK files. A case has been registered, and efforts are underway to trace the accused through the mobile numbers and bank accounts involved.