cyberfraud
Ahmedabad: A Rs 3 crore corporate transfer was completed before the employee realised that his ‘boss’ was actually a fraudster. The company immediately alerted police, who froze Rs 2.9 crore within 30 minutes. Their swift response helped the company eventually recover Rs 2.9 crore. The incident came to light on Aug 18 when an employee of an Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical company received messages from a WhatsApp account using his director’s identity. Their intervention resulted in Rs 2.9 crore being frozen within 30 minutes of the complaint. The fraudsters could manage to withdraw only Rs 6 lakh. After completing legal formalities, police obtained a court order to restore the frozen funds, and Rs 2.9 crore was returned to the company’s account.
The number was different from the director’s actual phone number, but since the name and photograph were the same, it did not immediately raise suspicion, Ahmedabad rural police said. This kind of communication between senior management and employees was normal, according to police. DySP Tapan Dodiya said police immediately began tracking the financial trail.
The WhatsApp account used the director’s name and photograph, while the voice giving the instructions sounded familiar. But the employee’s immediate call to the real director exposed the deception. The messages appeared to be part of the company’s routine communication, and the person giving the instructions sounded quite like the boss. The employee had little reason to find the request or the amount unusual. The company moved quickly and filed an online cybercrime complaint immediately. A case was registered at the cybercrime police station under Ahmedabad rural police.
