Fake Doctor Appointment Scam: Couple duped of Rs 18.61 lakh

Bulandshahr: A man posing as an associate of a doctor allegedly duped a couple in Anupshahr of Rs 18,61,970 in a cyber fraud, after convincing them that he could arrange an immediate medical appointment. Taking advantage of the patient’s urgent health concerns, he asked them to download an app called ‘Doctor Appointment’, which was later turned out to be a tool for financial exploitation.

According to a report by The420, the incident began on December 1, 2025, when the ailing resident of Mohalla Kedar Sahay searched Google for a doctor’s phone number as he was unwell and seeking medical advice. He dialled a number that appeared in the search results, and the person who answered claimed to be linked to a doctor and assured him that an immediate appointment could be arranged.

The caller instructed him to download a mobile application named ‘Doctor Appointment’ to proceed with the booking.  Due to his medical condition, the victim installed the app. During installation, he was asked to grant certain permissions on his phone, which he accepted without suspecting any wrongdoing, The420 reported.

Investigators suspect that these permissions enabled the fraudsters to gain remote access to the victim’s mobile device. This may have allowed them to monitor his screen activity, intercept one-time passwords (OTPs), and access sensitive banking details. As the victim remained unwell, he did not regularly check his phone notifications or bank alerts for several days, allowing the accused to operate undetected.

Between February 19 and February 25, 2026, Rs 10,07,561 was withdrawn from his bank account in 20 separate transactions, allegedly in smaller tranches to avoid raising suspicion. The fraudsters also targeted his wife’s bank account. From February 20 to February 26, Rs 8,54,409 was siphoned off through multiple transactions. In total, Rs 18,61,970 was fraudulently withdrawn.

The family discovered the fraud only on February 26, after reviewing accumulated debit messages on the phone. Shocked by the repeated alerts, they immediately contacted the bank and requested that the accounts be blocked.

A formal complaint has been lodged at the Cyber Crime Police Station, and an investigation is underway. Authorities are examining transaction details, beneficiary accounts, and digital trails linked to the app to trace where the funds were transferred and how they were further routed.

Preliminary findings suggest that the app may have functioned as a remote access or screen-sharing tool, enabling the accused to view banking activities in real time. Cyber experts have warned that relying on unverified contact numbers found through online searches can pose serious risks, particularly when patients are urgently seeking medical help.