In a startling case of cyber fraud, a 51-year-old Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of a private firm in Dharashiv was duped of over ₹1.10 crore by a scammer who impersonated the company’s chairman through WhatsApp.
According to police officials, the victim received a WhatsApp message on April 15 from an individual claiming to be the chairman of the company. The message came from an unknown number, but it displayed the chairman’s photograph as the profile picture, leading the CRO to believe it was legitimate. The sender asked him to save the new number, citing it as his updated contact.
Two days later, the impersonator contacted the CRO again and inquired about the company’s account balance. Gaining his trust further, the fraudster claimed to be in a meeting with government officials and urgently requested a transfer of ₹1.10 crore for a project-related expense. Bank account details were provided, and the CRO proceeded to make the transfer, believing it to be a genuine request.
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The fraud came to light when the company’s accountant informed the real chairman about the transaction. Shocked, the chairman clarified that he had not requested any such transfer. Realizing the deception, the CRO immediately reached out to the bank and subsequently reported the matter to the police.
A case has been registered under Section 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for cheating, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act, including Section 66C (identity theft) and Section 66D (cheating by personation using computer resources).
Investigations are underway to trace the fraudster and recover the transferred funds. Authorities have once again urged the public and corporate professionals to exercise extreme caution when handling financial transactions and to verify requests, especially those made via messaging platforms.