A 51-year-old accountant in Ahmedabad has become the latest victim of a sophisticated scam that resulted in the loss of ₹95.80 lakhs. The incident occurred on July 6 when he received a message from an unknown number posing as his employer.
The message was crafted to look like it came from the owner of a private finance company where the accountant had worked for six months. It included a bank account detail and instructed him to transfer ₹95.80 lakhs. Trusting the directive, he promptly completed the transaction without raising any suspicions.
But things took a turn the next day when another message arrived from the same number, this time demanding an even larger amount: ₹1.26 crores. This raised alarms for the accountant who decided to confront his boss directly at their office.
Upon speaking with his employer, he learned that no such message had been sent regarding either transfer. Realizing he’d been duped, he immediately reported the incident to cybercrime authorities.
The police have launched an investigation based on his complaint and are working to trace the sender’s number and bank details related to these transactions.
Cybersecurity Awareness
This incident highlights ongoing risks associated with financial transactions made over messaging platforms like WhatsApp. Experts warn against blindly trusting requests for large sums of money simply because they appear legitimate based on name or profile photos.