A senior accounts executive of a private group in Mumbai was allegedly cheated out of more than ₹10.40 crore after receiving WhatsApp messages from a number he believed belonged to the company's Executive Director. According to The Indian Express, the fraud, carried out over 63 transactions spanning nearly two weeks this month, came to light only after the executive reached out to his senior through official channels and discovered that no such instructions had ever been issued. The victim, a manager in the company's accounts division who has been with the conglomerate for 31 years, received the first WhatsApp message on June 3 from an unknown number that asked him to save it as a 'very personal number' and not share it with anyone.
The impersonator then told the victim he was entering a meeting and asked that no one call him, saying he would call back later. Shortly after, according to The Indian Express, the sender shared bank account details and instructed him to transfer ₹46,50,102. The victim processed the payment from the company's bank account, believing the instruction to be authentic. Between June 3 and June 15, he continued to act on similar WhatsApp instructions and transferred money to multiple beneficiary accounts named by the sender. In total, 63 transactions amounting to ₹10,40,71,924 were carried out, with the account's display picture carrying a photograph of the Executive Director, which led the victim to believe the messages were genuine.
Delhi Police arrested four persons on Tuesday in connection with the case. As reported by The Indian Express, two of the detained individuals were identified as Vikash and Vansh, who were apprehended when they arrived at the IDFC FIRST Bank branch in Jasola, South-East Delhi, to withdraw ₹8 lakh in cash. The bank had alerted police following drives conducted under Operation CyHawk, during which bank officials in the district had been asked to flag suspicious activity, particularly unusual withdrawals. A police team from Sarita Vihar police station rushed to the branch and detained the two men, who allegedly told police they had rented out their bank accounts to route illicit funds in return for promised commissions of ₹30,000 and ₹20,000 respectively.
During questioning, the account holders allegedly told police they had been promised commissions to arrange bank accounts for laundering money obtained through cyber fraud. Acting on information provided during questioning, senior officers laid a trap that led to the arrest of two alleged handlers, Faiyaz Alam and Amit, from Madanpur Khadar. According to The Indian Express, a senior Mumbai Police officer confirmed that the complaint had been received at the South cyber police station and that an FIR was being registered. The victim subsequently lodged a complaint with the 1930 cyber helpline and submitted screenshots of the WhatsApp conversations as evidence.
