In Hingoli, Maharashtra, a government worker thought he was receiving a warm gesture: a wedding invitation.
The message arrived on WhatsApp from an unknown number, carrying a note that read almost poetically: “Welcome. Shadi mein zarur aye (Do come to the wedding). 30/08/2025. Love is the master key that opens the gate of happiness.”
Beneath the cheerful text was what looked like a digital wedding card in PDF format. Like most of us would, he clicked it—only to find out later it wasn’t an invite at all, but a carefully planted trap.
Within hours, cybercriminals had gained control over his phone, siphoning off nearly ₹1.9 lakh from his bank account. By the time he realised what had happened, the money was gone. A case has now been registered at Hingoli police station, with the cyber cell probing the theft, officials confirmed to NDTV.
This scam isn’t new. Last year, the “wedding invitation trick” made its first rounds across India, duping several unsuspecting victims. It works the same way every time: a fake invitation link, a disguised APK file, and once installed, it silently hands over the keys to the victim’s digital life.
Cyber experts have been warning people for months. The Himachal Pradesh Cyber Police, in fact, had issued a public alert last year cautioning users never to download suspicious files sent via unknown numbers. APK files, they explained, give hackers access to everything on a phone—from banking apps to personal messages—turning a happy-looking invitation into a financial ambush.
For the Hingoli victim, the lesson was cruelly expensive: in today’s world, even a wedding card can be a weapon in the wrong hands.
