Nagpur: A cyber fraudster allegedly cheated a Nagpur-based private firm of ₹1.30 crore by impersonating the company owner and sending a fake payment instruction via WhatsApp to the firm’s accountant.
Amit Ghate (43), an accountant with the firm, received a WhatsApp message from a number that appeared to belong to the company owner, according to police. The sender allegedly posed as the owner and directed Ghate to transfer ₹1.30 crore from the company’s account to a specified current account held with another bank. The fraud came to light when the company owner learnt about the transfer and confirmed that the payment instruction had not originated from him. The company subsequently approached the police, who launched an investigation.
The fraud surfaced after the owner discovered an unauthorised transaction and realised that he had never issued any such instruction. Police are examining the mobile number used to send the WhatsApp message, the digital communication trail and the beneficiary bank account in an effort to identify the fraudster and trace the siphoned funds. A case has been registered at the Cyber Police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to cheating, impersonation, forgery, use of forged electronic records and criminal conspiracy, along with sections of the Information Technology Act dealing with computer-related offences and identity misuse. Investigations are continuing.
Following a complaint, the Cyber Police registered a case against an unidentified accused on Friday.