Kochi: A pharmaceutical company based in Kochi has allegedly lost Rs 99 lakh (yaani nearly Rs 1 crore) after an unidentified fraudster allegedly impersonated the company's chief executive officer (CEO) on WhatsApp and tricked an accounts department employee into transferring the money to another bank account, according to reporting by The Hindu on the case. The alleged incident took place on October 16, and Kochi City Cyber Police have registered a case in connection with the fraud.
Source: Medical Dialogues (reporting The Hindu)
According to the First Information Report (FIR), the accused allegedly hacked a mobile phone used by the company's accounts department and saved a phone number under the CEO's name, using the WhatsApp display picture associated with him so the contact appeared genuine. Posing as the chief executive, the fraudster then allegedly messaged accounts staff and convinced an employee to transfer Rs 99 lakh to another account.
Source: The Hindu report, republished by TechWord News
Police have registered the case under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the reports said. The accused has not been identified in the reporting, and the allegations in the FIR are yet to be tested.
Market regulator SEBI, citing the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), has warned companies about an emerging pattern dubbed the 'Boss Scam', in which fraudsters impersonate CEOs or managing directors over email, WhatsApp or Teams and pressure finance staff into transferring funds. SEBI advised firms never to transfer money on the basis of a social-media or messaging instruction alone, and to verify such requests through a separate call.
The Kochi case follows the same pattern described in that advisory: a familiar name and display picture on a messaging app were allegedly enough to move a large sum out of a company account before anyone verified the instruction through another channel.
Source: SEBI advisory via IANS
Kochi City Cyber Police are investigating the case. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as police share further details, including any recovery of the transferred funds.