HYDERABAD: Cyber fraudsters impersonated a company director on WhatsApp and duped a private firm of Rs 25 lakh. A 46-year-old businessman, who is a director of a company, filed a complaint with the Hyderabad cyber crime police saying that a member of the accounts team was receiving WhatsApp messages on the company mobile that appeared to be from his number.
The messages first asked if the employee was present in the office and then asked for details of available balances in the company’s bank accounts. Believing the messages to be genuine, she shared the account details.
The sender then instructed him to transfer Rs 25 lakh to a bank account given in the messages. Trusting the instructions, she processed the transaction.
The fraud came to light during a routine conversation when the director asked for an update on the company’s affairs. The employee informed him that the payment had already been made and asked for confirmation.
By questioning the purpose of the payment, the beneficiary and the authorization for the transaction, the director realized that the company had fallen victim to cyber fraud.
Further verification revealed that the accounts team’s mobile phone had been compromised. The director’s original number was blocked on the company’s phone, while a fraudulent number was stored and displayed with his profile picture, giving the impression that the messages were authentic.
Investigators also found that previous chat messages had been inserted into the chat thread, making the fraudulent communication appear genuine and prompting the employee to act on the instructions.
Based on the complaint, Hyderabad cyber crime police registered a case and initiated an investigation.
