A new and dangerous cyber fraud has come to light, which is targeting government employees across India, by withdrawing money from their bank accounts under the pretext of revealing their estimated salary hike in the 8th Pay Commission (8th CPC). The central government, through a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), has alerted employees about the ongoing cyber fraud, and told them how to avoid it.
According to a social media post on CyberdostI4C, WhatsApp messages have been sent to several government employees asking them to click on an APK file link, which it claims will inform the employees about their estimated revised salary in the 8th CPC. 8th Pay Commission is necessary for more than Rs 1 crore central government employees and pensioners.
According to CyberdostI4C social media post on X, government employees are being asked through messages on WhatsApp to click on a link and download an APK file, which can tell them about their estimated salary hike in the 8th Pay Commission. As soon as the APK file is installed, access to the mobile goes directly to the fraudsters.
Government employees are being sent messages on WhatsApp asking them to download an APK file to know what their salary will be when the 8th Pay Commission is implemented.
As soon as the APK is installed, access to the mobile goes to fraudsters.#APKScamAlert #PayCommissionScam pic.twitter.com/UO6hSMkMmj
— CyberDost I4C (@Cyberdost) February 13, 2026
Threat to bank accounts of government employees?
According to social media posts, government employees are receiving WhatsApp messages, claiming to calculate their salary in the 8th Pay Commission. Note that these messages are fake and are asking users to download the APK file.
Once the APK file is installed, scammers gain access to the employee’s mobile phone. After that, money is withdrawn from the victim’s bank account.
Important advice for employees
The government never sends APK files on WhatsApp.
Downloading APK files from unverified sources can be dangerous.
For information related to salary, pension or Pay Commission, always visit the official government website https://8cpc.gov.in/.
New website of 8th Pay Commission
The government has launched the official website of the 8th Pay Commission (https://8cpc.gov.in/). After the launch of the website, the 8th CPC has also sought feedback and comments from departments, ministries, central government employees and other interested parties related to salaries, allowances, services and other important matters. Responses have been sought from ministries, departments, state/UT, government employees, union territory employees, judicial officers, court officers/employees, members of regulatory bodies, associations or unions of working or retired employees, pensioners, researchers, academicians and general public.