Navi Mumbai: A cyber fraudster posing as the Managing Director (MD) of a company conned an accountant in a Rabale MIDC-based firm out of Rs 22 lakh by sending WhatsApp messages impersonating the MD. Rabale MIDC police have registered a case under sections of fraud and the IT Act and have initiated an investigation.
The complainant, Nagesh Rarchla, is the head of the accounts department at MD Trans Con Pvt. Ltd., located in Rabale MIDC. On July 8, the company’s real MD, Milind Deshmukh, had visited a phone service center in Thane to transfer data from his old phone to a new one. At that time, Deshmukh had asked Rarchla to send Rs 3,799 to the service center, which he did.
The next evening, an unknown cyber criminal sent a message to Rarchla via WhatsApp, pretending to be MD Milind Deshmukh. The fraudster claimed to have changed his number and asked Rarchla to save the new number. Since the WhatsApp display picture showed Deshmukh’s photo, Rarchla believed the request was genuine and saved the number.
On the morning of July 10, the fraudster again contacted Rarchla via WhatsApp and instructed him to transfer Rs 22 lakh as an advance for a company transaction. Rarchla consulted Udaysingh Deshmukh, another company director, who advised him to wait. However, the fraudster persistently messaged Rarchla to expedite the transaction, leading him to transfer the entire amount.
Later, when Milind Deshmukh denied having sent any such message or using the new mobile number, it became clear to Rarchla that he had been duped.
"Realizing the company had suffered a financial loss of Rs 22 lakh, he filed a complaint," a police official from Rabale MIDC police station, said. Police have launched an investigation to identify and trace the cyber fraudster.
