In a shocking case of corporate cyber fraud driven by sophisticated social engineering tactics, fraudsters allegedly duped a senior accounts executive of a prominent company into transferring more than ₹10.40 crore by impersonating a top company official on WhatsApp. Four people have been arrested in connection with the case, while investigators continue to search for other members of the network believed to be involved in the operation.
The fraud remained undetected for nearly two weeks before coming to light. Realizing that he had been deceived by an impersonator, the victim immediately reported the matter through the national cybercrime helpline and submitted screenshots of the WhatsApp conversations and other digital evidence to investigators, who then began tracing the financial trail.
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The Anatomy of a Deep Corporate Deception
According to the complaint, the victim serves as Deputy General Manager in the company’s accounts department and has been associated with the organization for more than 31 years. The fraud allegedly began on June 3 when he received a WhatsApp message from an unknown mobile number. The sender introduced himself as Siddharth Jain, a senior executive of the company, and claimed that the number was his private contact that should not be shared with anyone.
What made the deception convincing was the display picture on the WhatsApp account. The profile featured the photograph of the company executive, leading the victim to believe that the messages were genuine. The sender then informed him that he was busy attending an important meeting and required several urgent financial transactions to be processed immediately.
The Multi-Million Siphoning Loop
Shortly afterward, bank account details were sent through WhatsApp along with instructions to transfer more than ₹46.50 lakh from the company’s account. Believing the request to be legitimate, the executive authorized the payment. After the initial transfer was completed successfully, the fraudster continued sending additional payment instructions over the following days.
Investigators said the victim followed the directions without suspicion, assuming they were official instructions from a senior corporate authority. Between June 3 and June 15, a total of 63 separate transactions were executed. Through these transfers, ₹10,40,71,924 was moved from the company’s account into multiple beneficiary accounts controlled by the fraud network.
The scam eventually came to light when the accounts executive sought invoices and supporting documents related to the payments through official company channels. During the conversation, he discovered that the senior executive had never issued any such instructions.
The Delhi Mule Nzetwork Unraveled
The investigation soon expanded to Delhi after suspicious banking activity was detected. A bank branch in South-East Delhi alerted authorities about an unusual cash withdrawal attempt involving approximately ₹8 lakh. Acting on the information, a police team reached the bank and detained two individuals who had arrived to withdraw the money.
During questioning, the suspects allegedly admitted that they had provided their bank accounts to cybercriminals in exchange for commission payments. Investigators believe the accounts were used as mule accounts to receive and move fraud proceeds through multiple layers, making it difficult to trace the final beneficiaries.
Further investigation led to the arrest of two alleged handlers, identified as Faiz Alam and Amit. Authorities suspect that they played a key role in coordinating the movement of funds and managing the network of account holders used to route stolen money.
Exploiting Hierarchical Trust and Urgency
Renowned cybercrime expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh said such frauds represent an advanced form of social engineering in which criminals exploit trust within corporate hierarchies. By impersonating senior executives and creating a sense of urgency, fraudsters are often able to bypass routine verification processes and persuade employees to authorize high-value transactions.
Investigators are now working to identify the alleged mastermind behind the operation and determine whether the same network targeted other companies using similar methods. The probe is also focused on uncovering additional bank accounts, digital communication channels and financial intermediaries linked to the fraud.
