A family in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, lost ₹98,000 from its bank account after an unauthorised UPI transaction was initiated by a woman who clicked on an advertisement while using Instagram.
But when she clicked on it, the mobile phone would not respond and the family's mobile phone would not make a call, the complaint says. Police have registered a case and transferred it to the cyber cell which is investigating the fraud and how access to the family’s bank account was obtained.
It happened in Rudra Pura, which is part of Purani Chhawani police station. According to Jay Pratap Singh Batham’s complaint, his wife Rachna was on Instagram on 11 August and an advertisement was posted on her mobile device. She clicked on the advertisement and the device stopped responding. The family found out that the phone’s functions were not working and they could not even turn it off normally.
The sudden breakdown of the phone appeared as a technical problem, rather than a financial security issue at first. The family then took the phone to a mobile repair shop near Purani Chhawani crossroads. The shopkeeper was able to shut down the phone and restart it. At that time, the family apparently did not know that there was an unauthorised financial transaction or that the device might have been involved in the alleged cyber incident.
The financial loss was found later around midnight when Jay Pratap received a message from his bank about an instalment. When he checked the account, he found that the balance had fallen to minus ₹2,970. The family had nearly ₹1 lakh in the account before the incident, so the sudden depletion of funds was a major shock.
Afterwards Jay Pratap asked his wife if she had transferred money to anybody. She said no. This made the family suspect that the account may have been accessed without their authorisation. They immediately contacted the cybercrime helpline at 1930 to report the suspected fraud and seek assistance.
The next day, the family went to the bank and examined the account statement. The statement revealed that ₹98,000 had been withdrawn through three separate UPI transactions. The family maintains that none of these transactions were authorised by them. The exact mechanism through which the payments were initiated or authenticated has not yet been established and investigators are trying to determine what happened between the advertisement click, the phone malfunction and the subsequent withdrawals.
Police received a formal complaint on August 16 and registered a case. The investigation is now being handed over to the cyber cell which will investigate the digital and financial trail of the transactions. Investigators will look at whether the advertisement was connected to the fraud, whether malicious software or some form of unauthorised access was involved and how the culprits were able to complete the UPI transactions.
At this point it would be premature to conclude that clicking on the Instagram advertisement in itself caused the money to be withdrawn. The complaint establishes a sequence of events reported by the family, but the technical connection between the advertisement and the unauthorised transactions remains a matter for investigators to establish. The cyber cell’s examination of the mobile device, transaction records and other available evidence could help clarify what happened.
The incident demonstrates the growing dangers associated with online advertisements and unexpected links on social media platforms. Fraudsters can use digital advertising and deceptive online content to direct users to websites or services that may try to obtain sensitive information. Users should therefore be cautious when clicking unfamiliar advertisements, particularly those offering unusually attractive deals, prizes, financial opportunities or urgent requests for action.
The case also underscores the need to respond quickly when there is an unauthorised bank transaction. After the suspicious activity was detected, the family contacted the cybercrime helpline on 1930. Early reporting is important in cyber-fraud cases, for financial institutions and law enforcement agencies may be able to track or block funds if complaints are made.
When used in India's economy, UPI has become ubiquitous and is now integrated into the lives of millions of people in everyday payments, making digital payments easy to use. But the speed and convenience of digital payments also mean that users need to protect their phones, banking credentials and payment applications carefully. People should never share their UPI PIN, passwords, OTPs or other confidential banking information with strangers, and unexpected links or advertisements should be approached cautiously.
The immediate priority for the Gwalior family is to get back the allegedly lost funds and to know how these transactions were conducted. The cyber cell’s investigation will be crucial in determining who actually accessed the account and what kind of methods were used to access it.
Another warning about the changing nature of cybercrime is now in effect. So what appeared to be a frozen mobile phone ended up with a huge financial loss and the family is looking for answers. Digital fraud is evolving, so now more than ever users are being urged to be vigilant when they browse social media, click advertisements and use unfamiliar online services.
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