RANCHI: Cybercriminals of Jamtara, who have been updating their tactics to adopting new ways to dupe people, have now begun creating fake applications for Android mobile phones. They have also discovered ways to prevent these fake apps from being detected by anti-virus software.
This was revealed during an investigation following the arrest of a group of cybercriminals operating under the name DK Boss in Jamtara. The gang was allegedly involved in digital frauds worth Rs 11 crore related to 415 complaints across the country.
The gang was using Java programming to create malicious mobile applications in the name of government schemes like ‘PM Kisan Yojna.apk’ and ‘PM Fasal Bima Yojna.apk’ and various banks, including State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, and Axis Bank.
APK, which stands for ‘Android Package Kit,’ is a file format for distributing and installing apps on Android devices. The group was using sophisticated artificial intelligence in Android software development and ChatGPT for creating malware, police said.
“Some cybercriminals have learnt basic coding language required to create APK in the name of various government schemes and send these malicious files to users. Once downloaded, these files can easily hack the users’ phones, steal bank account details, OTPs and date of birth using SMS and call forwarding, which is further used to conduct unauthorised transactions in bank accounts of victims,” DSP Chandrashekhar, a member of the probe team in Jamtara, said.
He added that six people, who were operating under the pseudonym of DK Boss, have been arrested in the case. Data from about 2,000 Punjab National Bank and 500 Canara Bank account holders were found on their phones.
“They were not only using the apps themselves but also selling them to other criminals for `20,000-25,000 per APK,” said the DSP. During the probe, it was found that the gang employed Chat GPT to generate new codes to further their malicious design, he added.