A sophisticated WhatsApp impersonation scam has cost a Mumbai-based private company more than Rs 10.4 crore after an accounts department employee unknowingly followed instructions from a fraudster posing as a senior executive.
The incident began on June 3 when a deputy general manager in the company’s accounts division received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. The sender claimed to be the company’s executive director and asked the employee to save the number as a “personal number” and not share it with anyone.
The fraudster used the executive director’s photograph as the display picture, convincing the employee that the message was genuine.
Claiming to be occupied in an urgent meeting, the sender instructed the employee not to call and instead shared bank account details for immediate fund transfers. Trusting the request, the employee processed the first transaction of Rs 46.5 lakh.
Between June 3 and June 15, the employee carried out 63 transactions as directed, transferring a total of Rs 10,40,71,924 from the company’s account to multiple bank accounts.
The fraud came to light on Tuesday when the employee contacted the executive director through official channels and requested invoices for accounting purposes. The executive director denied issuing any such instructions, revealing that the company had been targeted in a cyber fraud.
Following a complaint, police launched an investigation. During the probe, authorities received information linked to the accounts that had received the funds. A bank branch in Delhi alerted police after 2 men arrived to withdraw Rs 8 lakh in cash.
Acting on the tip-off, police arrested Vikas and Vansh. During questioning, both admitted that they had allowed their bank accounts to be used for routing fraudulent funds in exchange for commissions of Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively.
Further investigation led police to Faiyaz Alam and Amit. Faiyaz disclosed that he had been promised a 2% commission for providing bank accounts to facilitate fund transfers.
The arrests were aided by “Operation CyHawk”, under which police had directed banks to report suspicious transactions and unusual withdrawals. While 4 accused have been arrested, investigators are continuing efforts to identify the mastermind and trace the flow of the stolen funds. Authorities are also examining whether a larger cybercrime network is involved.
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