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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteGhostBat is an Android remote-access-trojan (RAT) campaign using fake RTO, mParivahan and e-Challan messages to trick people in India into installing malicious APK files. Recent reporting says the campaign now targets 60 banking, UPI, wallet, fintech and payment applications, including named examples such as Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, BHIM and MobiKwik. The malware can request SMS access, imitate a ₹1 verification payment, capture a UPI PIN and steal banking OTPs.
What GhostBat is and why the 60-app warning matters
Cyble Research and Intelligence Labs first documented GhostBat in October 2025 as an Android malware campaign. Its later reporting, cited by Cybersecurity News and The Cyber Express, says the operation has expanded to 60 Indian banking, UPI, wallet, fintech and payment applications.
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Cyble identified more than 40 distinct Android malware samples from September 2025 onward. That sample count is not a victim count: no credible source reviewed for this report has published a verified number of infections, losses or successful account takeovers tied to the 60-app expansion.
GhostBat is dangerous because it combines social engineering with Android permissions and payment-themed screens. It does not need to break the legitimate banking application itself if a victim is persuaded to install a fake government-service app and then type sensitive information into a counterfeit screen.
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How the GhostBat infection chain works
- A convincing lure arrives. The victim receives an unsolicited WhatsApp message or SMS about a traffic fine, RTO service, mParivahan update or e-Challan.
- A shortened link redirects the victim. The link can open a spoofed government-service page, a compromised website or a page that points to a malicious APK.
- The APK hides its code. Analysed samples use droppers, packing and obfuscation to make inspection and automated detection harder.
- The fake app asks for powerful access. It can request SMS-related permissions and may display an apparent update or ownership-verification step.
- A ₹1 payment screen collects the PIN. In the analysed flow, a fake ₹1 ownership-verification payment leads to a counterfeit UPI screen. Any PIN entered there can be sent to Firebase or other attacker-controlled infrastructure.
- Messages are harvested. Banking-related SMS and incoming messages can be filtered, uploaded or forwarded, allowing criminals to target one-time passwords and device-verification codes.
- The device may be registered with the operators. Some samples register infected devices through a Telegram bot associated with the GhostBat name.
“The malware spreads mainly through WhatsApp messages and SMS containing shortened URLs that appear as the RTO app, mParivahan, which redirect to GitHub-hosted APKs, and via compromised websites,” Cyble Research and Intelligence Labs says in its analysis.
The presence of a GitHub-hosted file does not make an APK trustworthy. A repository can be used to distribute a file without being an official government or bank release.
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Which Indian payment apps are named in coverage?
The 60-app figure covers banking, UPI, wallet, fintech and payment packages. The complete package list was not published in the sources reviewed, so the examples below should not be treated as the full target set or as proof that every version of each app was compromised.
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| Named example | Category described in coverage |
|---|---|
| Google Pay | UPI and payments |
| PhonePe | UPI and payments |
| Paytm | Payments and wallet |
| MobiKwik | Wallet and fintech |
| BHIM | UPI |
| SBI UPI | Banking and UPI |
| Axis Pay | Banking and UPI |
| BharatPe | Payments |
| CRED | Fintech and payments |
| Freecharge | Wallet and payments |
| PayZapp | Payments |
| Groww | Fintech and investing |
| Navi | Fintech |
| Jupiter | Fintech and banking |
| OneCard | Card and fintech |
| JioFinance | Financial services |
| Samsung Pay | Payments |
These names come from secondary coverage compiled by Threadlinqs. They indicate why users of popular payment apps should treat an unofficial “verification” APK as a device-security incident, not as a normal app update.
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Does GhostBat target Google Pay or PhonePe?
Yes. Google Pay and PhonePe are among the named examples in reporting about the 60-application expansion. That does not mean the legitimate apps themselves distribute GhostBat, nor does it establish that every customer or every app release was affected. The immediate risk comes from the malicious APK and the information it captures around the payment process.
Can a fake e-Challan APK steal a UPI PIN?
It can if the victim types the PIN into the malware’s counterfeit payment interface. A UPI PIN should be entered only inside the trusted payment flow of the legitimate banking or UPI application. A traffic-fine page, RTO utility, app-update prompt or “ownership verification” form has no legitimate reason to request it.
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SMS theft creates a second risk. If the malware can read or forward banking messages, attackers may obtain OTPs, sign-in codes or device-verification messages needed to attempt account recovery or fraudulent transactions.
What to do if you installed a suspicious mParivahan or e-Challan APK
- Stop financial activity on that phone. Do not open banking, UPI, wallet or investment apps on the potentially infected device.
- Disconnect it. Turn off mobile data and Wi-Fi if practical. Do not use the device to approve a new login or payment.
- Contact each bank or payment provider from a clean device. Use the number on an official website, card or statement—not a number supplied by the suspicious message. Ask for account monitoring, temporary blocks and investigation of unauthorised activity.
- Change credentials and UPI PINs from a clean device. Prioritise accounts used on the infected phone and any account whose OTPs or SMS may have been exposed.
- Review transactions and sessions. Look for unfamiliar payments, beneficiaries, mandates, device registrations and password-reset alerts. Preserve the message, URL, APK file and screenshots as evidence.
- Remove the malicious app only after evidence is preserved. If it cannot be uninstalled or has accessibility/device-administrator control, use the phone maker’s documented safe-mode or reset procedure, or obtain professional incident-response help.
- Report suspected fraud through India’s official cybercrime channels. Notify law enforcement and the affected financial institutions promptly; speed can matter for transaction holds.
How to avoid the campaign
- Install Android apps through official app stores and verify the developer, package identity and update history.
- Reject unsolicited APK links delivered by SMS, WhatsApp, shortened URLs or traffic-fine messages.
- Treat requests for SMS, accessibility or device-control permissions as a stop signal when they do not match the app’s stated purpose.
- Never type a UPI PIN into an RTO, e-Challan, mParivahan, “₹1 verification” or update page.
- Open the government service or payment provider by typing its known address or using an already installed, verified app instead of tapping a message link.
- Keep Android and legitimate apps updated, and investigate any sudden SMS activity, unexplained battery use, overlays or unknown accessibility settings.
Government warning and campaign timeline
On October 9, 2026, India’s CERT-In/CSIRT-Fin separately warned about Android campaigns impersonating RTO and e-Challan notifications. The notice is available at CERT-In.
That warning is consistent with the lure used in GhostBat reporting, but it should not be read as a public confirmation that every RTO-themed APK belongs to the same malware family. The safest response is to treat any unsolicited installation request as malicious until independently verified.
What is established—and what is not
Established reporting describes a campaign delivered through WhatsApp, SMS, shortened links, compromised sites and GitHub-hosted APKs, with capabilities including SMS theft and counterfeit UPI-PIN collection. It also reports more than 40 samples since September 2025 and a later target set of 60 Indian financial applications.
The available reports do not provide a complete 60-package inventory, a verified victim total, a national infection rate or a confirmed loss figure. App users should therefore act on the demonstrated infection techniques rather than wait for a definitive list of every targeted package.
Bottom line
GhostBat turns a believable traffic-fine or government-service message into a route for stealing UPI PINs, OTPs and banking messages. Do not install APKs from those messages. If one was installed, stop using financial apps on that phone, contact providers from a clean device, change exposed credentials and PINs, and report the incident through official channels.
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