Mumbai: A Mumbai-based company allegedly lost Rs 1.98 crore after a cyber fraudster impersonated its director on WhatsApp and convinced an accounts executive to transfer the money to a beneficiary account.According to the complaint filed by the General Manager-Accounts and Banking Administrator at Oriental Foundry Pvt Ltd, he received a WhatsApp message on Tuesday from an unknown number. The sender used the name and photograph of the director and claimed that it was his new contact number.The following day, the impersonator allegedly told the complainant that an urgent payment of ₹1.98 crore had to be made to a client and shared the bank details of an account in the name of Rajput Enterprises Multipal. Believing the instructions had come from his employer, he transferred ₹1.98 crore from the company’s bank current account.The fraud came to light after the complainant informed the director about the transaction and learnt that he had not issued any such instructions. The company then realised that an unidentified person had impersonated the director using his name and photograph. The GM subsequently approached the cybercrime helpline 1930 and lodged a complaint with the South Cyber Cell. Police are investigating the mobile number used by the impersonator and the beneficiary account into which the funds were transferred.
