A Mumbai accountant allegedly lost ₹48.60 lakh after fraudsters posed as the company’s CEO on WhatsApp, prompting the cybercrime department to arrest 2 people from Bihar and Jharkhand between August 14 and August 16. Police also found links to nearly 7 similar cases across India.
The ‘Boss Scam’ involves criminals impersonating senior executives and directing employees to transfer money from company accounts. An Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre advisory dated June 22, 2026, said attackers may send malicious files through email or WhatsApp disguised as urgent regulatory documents. Once opened, the malware can compromise Windows devices and active Web WhatsApp sessions.
A case was registered on February 26, 2026, under Sections 338(3) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act. The 2 accused were produced before the Girgaon magistrate court on August 19 and remanded to police custody from August 20 to August 25.
Police said the accused were allegedly connected to 8 people arrested on July 25, 2026, in similar Mumbai scams involving around ₹10.40 crore. Police have recovered ₹6 crore so far. Related cases have also been registered in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
According to police, the accountant received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number using the CEO’s name and photograph. “The fraudster used a bogus SIM card and changed the name and profile picture of the WhatsApp account to match the actual CEOs. He told the accountant that he was in a meeting and very busy, and that he needed money transferred into an account. The accountant, thinking it really was his boss, transferred the money, amounting to ₹48.60 lakh. Upon further investigation, the police found that the amount was transferred to a mule bank account in Kolkata,” police said.
The investigation traced the SIM to Rukundi Pur, Bihar, leading to the arrest of Aamir Chand Mohammad Khan, an Airtel SIM vendor, on August 14. His alleged accomplice, Suraj Kumar Pradeep Kumar Saw, also known as Vishal, was arrested near Jamtara, Jharkhand, on August 16.
Police said Khan allegedly misused e-KYC documents to activate SIMs and sent the SIM used in the fraud to Vishal. He allegedly sold 8 SIM cards to Vishal for ₹6,000 through UPI. Police seized 161 SIM cards, a megaphone and a POCO phone with the ‘Airtel Mitra’ app.
Police said the full ₹48.60 lakh has been held and the investigation continues. A securities regulator had also cautioned companies on July 17, 2026, against transferring funds based on social media instructions.
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