The Delhi Police’s Cyber Crime on Monday said that a worrying new trend of cheating has come to their notice where a fraudster impersonates senior officials of a company and lures the accountant of the company to transfer them money citing an emergent situation. A total of more than 7 crores have been lost in such cases in the last 10 days.

According to the police, a new trend has come to the fore regarding cheating by Whatsapp impersonation as Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and owner of the company and about three such cases have been reported in the last 10 days.

“Fake WhatsApp account was created using the Managing Director (MD), CEO's, owner etc. of the company with a display picture. The fraudster used this account to send messages to accountant/financial branches/offices. The fraudsters direct the accountant/staff urgent fund transfers under the guise of critical meetings or projects,” a senior police official said, adding that specific bank account details were shared with explicit directions to transfer funds immediately.

In the first instance of such crime, the fraudster contacted the company’s Accounts Manager via WhatsApp, impersonating the MD, while the WhatsApp profile picture included the company’s logo, further lending authenticity.

“The fraudster pressured the manager to urgently process an advance payment of Rs 1.15 crore for a ‘new project’, citing extreme urgency. Under this pressure, the manager complied and transferred the requested amount to the provided beneficiary account,” the officer added.

In another incident, the fraudster impersonated the MD and messaged the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). “The fraudster instructed the CFO to process two transactions amounting to Rs 1.96 crore and Rs 3 crore for a ‘new project’ related to signing a contract. Beneficiary details were provided along with repeated assertions of urgency, claiming the MD was preoccupied with government officials,” he said, adding that the fraudster even referenced the company’s current fund status to build credibility.

In the third case, the fraudster impersonated the brother of the director of a reputed company, Tele-Media Pvt. Ltd., and contacted the accountant through WhatsApp. “Claiming to be in urgent meetings with government officials, the fraudster requested details of the company’s available funds and directed the accountant to make advance payments. Consequently, the accountant transferred Rs 90 lakh in two installments of Rs 50 lakh and Rs 40 lakh to the specified account.

The police advised the public that to safeguard against such cheats, people should verify such requests by contacting the owner on alternate number or by physical verification.