Wrong timing: Mumbai firm’s owner calls cyber fraudster’s bluff

The accused impersonated the businessman and sent messages to his manager seeking bank details for an urgent matter.

The fraudster who picked up the call made the complainant download a remote-access app and gained access to the activities on his phone. (Representative image)

A cyber fraudster impersonated a businessman, who owns a chemical company, and sent WhatsApp messages to the firm’s finance manager asking him to send bank details for an urgent transaction. However, the fraudster’s timing couldn’t have been worse as the manager, at the time of receiving the messages, was seated in front of the company’s owner.

Realising that they were about to be cheated, the duo approached the local Bandra police station and a case was registered for impersonation against an unidentified person.

According to the FIR, the 61-year-old complainant had on January 31 called his 48-year-old finance manager to his cabin for some work in the afternoon. During their discussion, the manager received four to five WhatsApp messages from an unknown number which had the owner’s photo as the display picture. The messages read, “My personal number. In a meeting, don’t call. Are you in the office right now? Send me my banking details.” The manager immediately showed the messages to his boss.

Probe is on to trace the accused and determine how he managed to get details of the company and its owner.

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