Mumbai: A 51-year-old man working as chief revenue officer in a private company has fallen prey to a scammer who impersonated the chairman of the firm and induced him to transfer more than Rs 1 crore into a bank account.
According to police, the complainant works in a Dharashiv-based company. On April 15, he received a WhatsApp message from a man who identified himself as the chairman of the company and told him to save his new number.
The number had a display photograph of the chairman because of which the complainant believed that it was his employer. Two days later, the fraudster again messaged the complainant and inquired about the balance in the company’s bank account.
After the complainant told him, the fraudster told him that he was in a meeting with government officials and urgently required transfer of Rs 1.10 crore for a project. The fraudster then shared bank account details.
The complainant then transferred the amount into the account. The company’s accountant then informed the chairman about having transferred the money. The chairman said that he never asked for any money transfer. The complainant then got in touch with the bank.
The matter was then brought to the notice of the police after which a case had been registered last week under sections 318 (cheating) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 66C (identity theft), 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology Act.
