Pune: A Pune-based rubber company has allegedly lost ₹3.96 lakh after cyber fraudsters approached its employees with a fake offer for Vendor Registration with a Gujarat-based company. The fraud came to light when the suspects demanded an additional ₹6.33 lakh and company officials contacted the Gujarat-based firm directly. The company informed them that it had neither requested any payment nor authorised such a process. Following this, the rubber firm’s senior marketing manager approached the police. The Airport police have registered a case against unidentified cybercriminals and launched an investigation.
According to the complaint, an employee of the company received an email on July 22 seeking information for Vendor Registration with a Gujarat-based company. Believing the communication to be a genuine business proposal, the employee shared the requested details through email. Subsequently, the rubber company received a Vendor Registration Form along with bank account details for payment of the registration fee.
The communication appeared genuine to the company employees, and no immediate irregularity was noticed. The company’s Accounts Department transferred ₹3.96 lakh to the bank account provided by the fraudsters on July 30. However, the suspects continued communicating with the company after receiving the money. The following day, another email was sent demanding an additional ₹6.33 lakh.
The fraudsters allegedly attempted to make the demand appear legitimate by referring to a major business opportunity. The email claimed that the Gujarat-based company had floated a tender worth ₹2.11 crore and that an additional payment was required to proceed with the process. The company was allegedly led to believe that completing the payment would help it secure the opportunity to become a registered vendor.
The demand for another ₹6.33 lakh raised suspicion among company officials. The complainant then contacted the office of the Gujarat-based company directly to verify the communication. Officials there reportedly clarified that the company had not asked for any registration fee or deposit. They also informed the complainant that seeking such payments as part of the Vendor Registration process was not part of the company’s policy.
After receiving the clarification, officials of the Pune-based rubber firm realised that they had allegedly fallen victim to a cyber fraud. The senior marketing manager subsequently approached the Airport police and reported the incident. Investigators are now examining the bank account into which the ₹3.96 lakh was transferred. They are also trying to establish whether the money was moved to other accounts, identify the actual account holder and trace the individuals responsible for sending the fraudulent emails.
The case appears to involve an email-based fraud strategy targeting businesses. In such schemes, fraudsters allegedly impersonate genuine companies and use fake documents, payment instructions and bank accounts to make fraudulent communications appear authentic. Vendor Registration, tender and procurement processes can be exploited because businesses routinely exchange documents and make payments during such procedures.
Police are examining the digital evidence, email communications, bank transaction records and other available details to trace the suspects. Investigators are also expected to verify the identity of the individuals or entities behind the bank account and determine whether the same network may have targeted other businesses using similar Vendor Registration or tender-related offers.
