₹1.85 Crore Diverted via Fake Business Email; UP Man Arrested by Odisha Cyber Police
SUNDARGARH: The Cyber Crime and Economic Offences Police have arrested a 26-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh for his alleged role in defrauding an Odisha-based firm of over ₹1.85 crore through a spoofed business email. The accused, identified as Zubair alias Zubair Khan, a resident of Hapur, allegedly conspired with associates to impersonate a legitimate vendor and deceive the Sundargarh company into redirecting critical vendor payments to a fraudulent bank account. Following prompt police intervention, authorities managed to trace, freeze, and recover ₹1.14 crore, which has since been refunded to the firm under court directions.
Deceptive Email Triggers Double Transaction
The cyber fraud unfolded after the Sundargarh firm received an electronic communication that mirrored that of its genuine business partner. The email instructed the firm to update its beneficiary bank account records for an upcoming payment. Believing the request to be authentic, the company raised no suspicion and executed two major Real Time Gross Settlement transactions amounting to ₹1,85,45,436.
The transfers were dispatched in two tranches, with the first amounting to ₹65,57,436 and the second totalling ₹1,19,88,000. Both transactions were routed into the newly supplied bank account, which investigators believe was arranged specifically to collect the proceeds of the cyber deception. The fraud remained undetected until the actual business partner reached out to enquire about the overdue payment, prompting an internal audit of the firm’s email threads and transaction ledgers.
Interstate Operation Leads to UP Arrest
Realising that the update request was entirely fraudulent, the firm lodged a formal police complaint. Cyber crime investigators initiated a tracking process, scrutinising technical communication records and financial trails linked to the receiving bank account. The team successfully placed a lien on ₹1.14 crore remaining in the account, subsequently securing an order from a local Sundargarh court to restore the frozen sum to the victim enterprise.
Working on operational leads, Odisha Police coordinated with their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh to trace Khan to Hapur, where he was apprehended on Wednesday. Officers seized two mobile handsets, active SIM cards, and various incriminating documents from his possession. Following his arrest, Khan was presented before a local court in Uttar Pradesh, which granted a transit remand enabling investigators to bring him to Sundargarh. He was produced before a Sundargarh court on Saturday night and subsequently remanded to judicial custody.
Probe Underway to Trace Missing Funds
Investigators are now forensically examining the seized mobile devices and SIM cards to determine how the deceptive email was engineered and how the syndicate secured insider details regarding the company’s vendor dealings. Police are also questioning the accused to establish the operational control of the bank account used to intercept the transfers.
Efforts have shifted toward tracking the remaining sum of over ₹71 lakh that was drained before accounts could be frozen. Investigators are actively tracing the secondary accounts used for cash withdrawals and digital transfers, while working to identify Khan’s accomplices. Police noted that further arrests are expected as the financial probe deepens.
Follow for daily updates on cybercrime, corporate fraud, DFIR, hacking, investigations, and digital forensics
