Scammer hacks accountant's phone, swaps boss's number, dupes firm of Rs 80 lakh

The hacker sent a malicious file to the accountant's mobile phone. Upon gaining unauthorised access to the device, the hacker replaced the company owner's actual contact number with his own number.

In Short

• Ahmedabad-based rice mill operator loses Rs 80 lakh in cyber scam
• Scammer hacked into the mobile phone of the company's accountant
• Fraud came to light when scammer asked him to move another Rs 30 lakh

An Ahmedabad-based company operating a rice mill lost Rs 80 lakh in a cyber fraud after a hacker hacked into an employee's phone and duped him into transferring the money from the firm's account.

The nefarious scheme targeted an accountant, who was tricked into believing that the scammer was his employer. Pradeepbhai, the business owner, has lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime Department in connection with the matter.

According to the complaint, a cyber fraudster hacked into the phone of Jayeshbhai, who works as an accountant in his company, by sending a malicious file to his mobile phone.

Upon gaining unauthorised access to the device, the hacker replaced Pradeepbhai's actual contact number with his own number. The scammer also used Pradeepbhai's display picture to save the mobile number, per the complaint.

Posing as Pradeepbhai, the accused then sent a WhatsApp message asking Jayeshbhai to transfer Rs 80 lakh to a bank account. The accountant fell for the fraud and transferred the amount.

The fraud came to light when the accused demanded another Rs 30 lakh from Jayeshbhai. Suspicious of the additional demand, the accountant approached Pradeepbhai in person and discussed the transaction.

Following the discovery of the fraud, a police complaint was lodged by Pradeepbhai. The police have begun investigating the matter and are working to trace the unidentified accused.

This type of cyber fraud falls under the broader category of what have come to be known as "boss scams." To carry out such scams, fraudsters impersonate senior officials of companies and trick employees into transferring large sums of money from corporate accounts.

- Ends