Wedding card scam on WhatsApp: How one click emptied a government employee’s bank account

It looked like a sweet, harmless message, “Welcome. Shadi mein zarur aye. 30/08/2025. Love is the master key that opens the gate of happiness.” But for a government employee in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district, this WhatsApp wedding invitation turned into a nightmare, reported NDTV.

The employee received what appeared to be a PDF wedding card. In reality, it was an APK file, cleverly disguised to trick the receiver into clicking. The moment the victim tapped on it, the cybercriminals gained access to the phone. Within no time, a total of Rs 1,90,000 vanished from the account.

How The Scam Works

This isn’t new. The so-called wedding invite scam first surfaced last year when several unsuspecting people across India lost money in the same way. The scam begins with a simple WhatsApp invite. Once the APK file is installed, fraudsters can monitor the victim’s phone, steal personal data, and even impersonate them to cheat friends and family.


A case has now been registered at Hingoli police station and with the cyber cell department. Investigations are underway, but catching cybercriminals hiding behind such digital traps remains a major challenge.

Warnings Ignored?

Interestingly, the Himachal Pradesh Cyber Police had already warned people about this trick last year. They urged users never to download files from unknown numbers, even if they looked as harmless as an invite to a wedding. Sadly, not everyone paid attention.

The scam is a chilling reminder that in the digital age, even love-themed invitations can hide cybercrime. A simple tap on your phone can cost you lakhs, proving once again that caution online is the only real safeguard.

Inputs from agencies