A fraudster impersonated a company chairman on WhatsApp using a fake profile picture and tricked a Chief Revenue Officer into transferring ₹1.10 crore. Authorities urge extra caution with financial requests over messaging apps and have launched an investigation under cybercrime laws.

In a startling cyber fraud case, a con artist acting as the business’s chairman on WhatsApp scammed a 51-year-old Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of a private company in Dharashiv out of over ₹1.10 crore.

On April 15, a person posing as the company’s chairman sent the victim a WhatsApp message, according to police officials. The chairman’s photo was used as the profile picture, so even though the message was from an unknown number, the CRO thought it was authentic. Citing the new number as his updated contact, the sender requested that he save it.

The impostor got in touch with the CRO once more two days later and asked about the balance of the company’s account. To further win his faith, the scammer pretended to be meeting with government representatives and urgently asked for ₹1.10 crore to be sent for a project-related expense. After receiving the bank account information, the CRO made the transfer since they thought it was a legitimate request.

When the company’s accountant told the actual chairman about the transaction, the fraud was exposed. The chairman was shocked and explained that he had not asked for such a transfer. When the CRO discovered the fraud, he contacted the bank right away and then informed the police.

Along with pertinent provisions of the Information Technology Act, such as Section 66C (identity theft) and Section 66D (cheating by personation utilising computer resources), a cheating case has been filed under Section 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

To find the fraudster and retrieve the money that was sent, investigations are being conducted. The public and business professionals have once again been advised by authorities to handle financial transactions with extreme caution and to double-check requests, particularly those made over messaging platforms.