Cyber fraudster poses as boss, dupes Panvel-based firm of Rs 38.30 lakh

Representation Pic/istock

In a tricking display of targeted cyber-driven attack social engineering, a fraudster posed as the director and CFO of Tara Chand Industries and duped the Panvel-based company of Rs 38.30 lakh. The incident occurred on June 2.

Digital cloning

According to the police, the accused targeted the company's accountant to execute the fraud. Police said the accused, through digital cloning, replicated the profile details of Himanshu Aggarwal, Director and CFO of Tara Chand Industries. He then set up a WhatsApp account, disguising himself as Aggarwal, and initiated a contact with 31-year-old Hitesh Dahivelkar.

False urgency

Displaying absolute authority and creating a false sense of corporate urgency, the fraudster instructed Dahivelkar to execute heavy financial transactions from the company accounts to specified bank channels. Convinced that he was taking direct command from his boss, Dahivelkar processed two massive electronic fund transfers of Rs 19.70 lakh and Rs 18.60 lakh.

Case filed

Dahivelkar approached the Kalamboli police station on June 4 to file a complaint based on which an FIR was registered under section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), alongside sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. Police said that the identity of the accused is unknown, adding that an investigation is underway.

Victim Speaks

According to the complainant, on June 2, he received instructions on WhatsApp from the fraudster who posed as the company director. Dahivelkar said that he got to know about the fraud only after internal corporate disclosures revealed that no such managerial directives had ever been authorised.