Cyber Crime in Bengaluru: Woman Loses Rs 56 Lakh After Fake Boss Message

The rise in cybercrime has raised serious concerns, with authorities warning the public to be cautious of calls from individuals claiming to be from the police or CBI, as they may be fraudsters. The surge in cybercrime incidents has led to thousands of fraud complaints involving lakhs of rupees being filed daily. Alarmingly, educated people are often the primary targets, exacerbating the issue for authorities. Despite widespread awareness campaigns, people continue to fall victim to these scams. In one recent case, a young woman lost a staggering Rs 56 lakh to cybercriminals.

The incident occurred in Bengaluru, often referred to as the IT hub of India. Gloria (name changed), the chief accounting officer of a tech company, received a WhatsApp message allegedly from the company's managing director (MD). Believing the message to be legitimate, Gloria transferred a massive sum of Rs 56 lakh. However, it was later uncovered that the message had been sent by cybercriminals posing as the MD.

Cyber fraud unfolded in a similar manner to an incident involving Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla a few years ago. In that case, the company’s main account received a message instructing the transfer of Rs 1 crore in Poonawalla’s name. The police managed to recover the funds. A similar tactic was used in the Bengaluru case, where the cybercriminal set up a WhatsApp profile with the tech company’s MD’s photo and logo. On December 5, the fraudster sent a message to the company's chief accounting officer.

The fraud began when the cybercriminal, impersonating the MD, sent a message saying, "I am an MD and am finalising a project. For this, a security deposit of Rs 56 lakh will have to be paid. Pay from the company's account." Trusting the message, Gloria immediately transferred the money to two accounts. However, when she began to feel suspicious, she contacted the MD via email. By then, it was too late, as he confirmed he had not sent any such message. Following the incident, Gloria filed a complaint with the cyber police.

Inspector Ishwarani PN and his team are investigating a case where the tech company's funds were transferred to multiple bank accounts. One account, held by Sai Kumar in Hyderabad, led to his arrest by DCP Sara Fatima and the Hyderabad police. Kumar revealed that he opened the account at the request of a woman named Grishma, who paid him a commission for every Rs 10 lakh transferred. On December 8, the police raided Grishma's house and arrested her and her accomplices.

Grishma was found to be a cryptocurrency trader who revealed that she was approached by an unidentified individual during a transaction with a crypto company. He offered her an opportunity to earn more by working with him. Acting on his suggestion, Grishma downloaded an app called U-HomeEX and registered on it. Her role was to provide bank accounts for money transfers. The funds in these accounts were then withdrawn and converted into USDT (a type of cryptocurrency), which Grishma later sold to strangers for profit.