A Pune-based consultancy firm affiliated with a multinational corporation headquartered in the city has fallen prey to a sophisticated whale phishing attack, resulting in a financial loss of Rs 1.9 crore. The cybercriminals, impersonating the company’s director, manipulated the firm’s senior accounts manager into transferring the funds to a fraudulent account.
The fraudulent operation came to light after the consultancy firm lodged an FIR at Pune’s cyber police station on Monday. According to police reports, the attack began when the accounts manager — who had access to the company’s online banking — received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number while he was at home earlier this month, reports Indian Express.
The number displayed the profile picture of the company’s director, leading the victim to believe it was genuine.
The scammer, masquerading as the director, claimed to be using a new number can instructed the manager to save it. The message further conveyed that the company had secured a new project requiring an urgent fund transfer of Rs 1.9 crore to a specific bank account.
Trusting the request, the accounts manager proceeded with the transaction to an account registered in Churu district, Rajasthan.
Shortly after, the fraudster demanded an additional Rs 3 crore. When the accounts manager responded that insufficient funds were available, he was instructed to liquidate the firm’s fixed deposit. At this point, suspicion arose, prompting him to verify the request with the director via his known contact number. The director denied any knowledge of such instructions, confirming the fraudulent nature of the transaction.
Realising the scam, the firm promptly approached Pune’s cyber police. Investigators have since launched a probe into the mobile number and bank accounts used by fraudsters, attempting to trace their identities and recover the funds.
Whale phishing, also known as CEO fraud or spear phishing, is a highly targeted version. In this scam, scammers masquerade as senior executives and demand large amounts of funds from the employees.
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