Wedding invitation APK on WhatsApp: what it is and what to do

What the fake invitation looks like

It usually arrives on WhatsApp, often from an unknown number, sometimes from a friend whose phone is already infected. It looks like a wedding card, with a short warm message and a file attached. The file name may say “wedding card” or “invitation”, but it ends in .apk.

What the file does to your phone

An .apk file installs an app. In one fake wedding invitation app studied by the security firm K7 Labs in 2025, the app asked for permission to send and read SMS, to read contacts and to install other apps, then tried to take full control of the phone. It captured bank one-time passwords from notifications and recorded what the user typed.

Himachal Pradesh Police warned in November 2025 that once such a file is opened, scammers can reach photos, contacts and banking details, and the malware sends the same fake invitation to everyone in the contact list.

Cases reported in India

In August 2025, a government employee in Hingoli, Maharashtra, opened what looked like a PDF wedding card from an unknown WhatsApp number. It was an APK, and about ₹1.9 lakh was taken from his bank account. Police registered a case.

A cybercrime police officer in Himachal Pradesh put it simply: genuine wedding cards are shared as JPG images or PDF files, never as APK links.

If you already opened or installed it

1. Turn on aeroplane mode or switch off mobile data and Wi-Fi, so the app cannot send anything more.
2. From another phone, call your bank on the number on your card or its website and ask it to block UPI, net banking and cards for now.
3. Report it on 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in, especially if money has left your account.
4. Remove the unknown app from your phone's app settings. If it will not uninstall, get the phone checked or reset before you use banking apps on it again.
5. From a safe device, change your net banking, UPI and email passwords, and check WhatsApp's Linked devices for anything you do not recognise.

If it already happened

1. Disconnect the phone from the internet and call your bank from another phone to block UPI, net banking and cards.
2. Uninstall the unknown app, and run a Google Play Protect scan from the Play Store.
3. Change your banking, UPI and email passwords from a different device, and log out of WhatsApp sessions you do not recognise.
4. Warn your contacts not to open any invitation or file that came from your number.
5. Keep the message, the sender's number and your bank statements for your complaint.

• Call 1930The national cyber fraud helpline. Call within hours if money left your account.
• cybercrime.gov.inFile a complaint online and keep the acknowledgement number.
• Chakshu on Sanchar SaathiReport a fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp number.

Questions