Lucknow: A WhatsApp message purportedly sent by the son of a prominent Lucknow businessman was all it took to convince an accountant to transfer Rs 18 lakh, exposing what cyber police describe as the city’s first reported case of a “Boss Scam” — a form of business impersonation fraud that exploits employees’ trust in senior management.ADCP crime, Kiran Yadav, said cyber criminals impersonated the son of the owner of Calcutta Regalia, a well-known city-based business, and sent malware-laced WhatsApp messages to the firm’s accountant before directing him to make a series of urgent fund transfers. Believing the instructions to be genuine, the accountant transferred Rs 18 lakh.Lucknow Cyber Crime police said they have so far helped recover Rs 10.85 lakh by swiftly coordinating with banks and payment aggregators to freeze suspect accounts during the crucial “golden hour” after the fraud was reported.Police had earlier arrested three suspects from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh in connection with the case. Investigators said efforts were on to identify other members of the network and trace the remaining funds.According to Kiran Yadav, the fraud reflects a rapidly growing cybercrime pattern known internationally as a “Boss Scam” or Business Impersonation Fraud.In such scams, fraudsters gather information about a company’s owners and executives from social media platforms, company websites and professional networking sites before creating fake WhatsApp accounts or email IDs using their names and profile photographs. They then target finance or accounts personnel with messages such as, “I’m in a meeting, don’t call,” “This payment is confidential,” or “Transfer the money immediately,” creating urgency to bypass internal verification.
