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Mumbai CRO Duped of ₹1.10 Crore in WhatsApp Impersonation Scam

CRO

Business Honor
22 April, 2025

Fraudster posed as MD on WhatsApp, tricked officer into urgent fund transfers.

A 51-year-old chief revenue officer (CRO) from Mumbai has fallen prey to cyber fraud, losing a massive amount of ₹1.10 crore. The fraud was committed using an impersonation scam on WhatsApp, in which the accused impersonated the Managing Director (MD) of the company.

The crime occurred on 17th April. The victim had received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number, but the caller identified himself as the MD of the company. The fraudster informed the CRO that he was attending an urgent meeting and required some urgent payments to be made. Thinking the message to be true, the victim obeyed the message and made payments to various bank accounts mentioned in the conversation.

After transferring ₹1.10 crore, the victim called the actual MD and was surprised to find out that the MD had not sent such a message. Having found out it was a scam, the victim immediately went to the police station and complained.

A case has been filed under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections and Information Technology (IT) Act. The police are probing the case now. They are looking through the bank accounts utilized to send the funds and attempting to locate the individual who set up the imposter WhatsApp account.

This is a serious reminder of how easy it is to get tricked online, particularly when the scammer impersonates someone close to you. The police have urged individuals to always verify such money messages via a call or physically before acting upon them.

Such cyber cases of fraud are on the rise, and authorities are alerting all to remain vigilant and not act on money requests received only via messages.