LUCKNOW, Sept. 13 -- The Lucknow police Crime Branch has asked recipients of suspicious WhatsApp messages in the name of Green Gas not to delete these as the sender's mobile phone number, message details, and APK file could provide crucial leads in tracing the cybercriminals behind the fraud. Police said the recipients should forward the complete message along with the sender's mobile number to the Lucknow police Crime Branch's Organised Crime Helpline at 7839861034. The appeal was issued on Saturday under "Operation Digital Kavach" as fraudsters are allegedly approaching Green Gas consumers through WhatsApp, SMS and phone calls, threatening disconnection over unpaid bills and asking them to download and install APK files. "An apparently suspicious mobile number and WhatsApp message provided by the public can become an important lead in reaching the cybercriminals and identifying their network," said Kiran Yadav, additional deputy commissioner of police (crime), Lucknow. According to the crime branch, fraudsters are using the name of Green Gas to make consumers believe that disconnection is imminent. One message circulating as part of the scam claims that the consumer's piped gas connection would be disconnected at 8.30pm because the previous month's bill had not been updated. The recipient is then asked to call a purported Green Gas official or update the bill immediately. The police said the APK files being circulated could provide the cybercriminals unauthorised access to sensitive information on a victim's phone and this could potentially expose SMS messages, OTPs, banking-related information and other personal data, which may then be used for financial fraud. The Crime Branch has also issued instructions for people who may have already downloaded or installed such an application. Those who have only downloaded the APK have been advised not to open or install it and to delete the file. Those who have installed it should immediately disconnect the phone from Wi-Fi and mobile data, avoid granting further permissions to the suspicious application and run a security scan using tools recommended by the Cyber Swachhta Kendra. If money has already been lost, victims have been asked to immediately call 1930 and lodge a complaint on the national cybercrime reporting portal. The crime branch said preserving the original message and sender details is important for investigation, and urged residents not to simply delete suspicious messages after receiving them....