A well-known automobile company, JBM Group, has been duped for Rs.1 Crore in yet another fraudulent incident that took place via fake WhatsApp messages.
As per the police, the fraudster, in a WhatsApp message to the Chief Finance Officer of JBM, Vivek Gupta claimed to be the company’s vice chairman and had the money transferred to the bank accounts. As per the officials, a total of eight transactions had been made with seven different bank accounts, worth Rs 1,11,71,696.
In the wake of the incident, an FIR has been registered against the unidentified fraudster under section 419 (cheating by impersonation), 420 (cheating) of IPC, and Section 66-D of IT Act at Cybercrime police station.
“The fraudsters claimed to be a JBM Group vice chairman Nishant Arya. The WhatsApp profile picture of the caller displayed Arya’s photograph. On verifying Truecaller, it reflected that the number belonged to Arya. I was also informed by the sender that he is busy in an important meeting, I could not directly call to make any further inquiry.” The CFO stated in his complaint.
“I carried out the instructions of the sender under the bona fide impression that the instructions were coming from my superior Nishant Arya who needed to effectuate these transactions which were both very important and extremely urgent. The sums were transferred from two entities of the JBM Group, namely JBM Industries and JBM Auto. At the request of the sender, the UTR numbers confirming such transfers were also shared on the same WhatsApp chat,” Gupta further added.
Serum Institute of India duped of Rs. 1 Crore via WhatsApp
Earlier this month, on September 7, a similar case was seen involving the Serum Institute of India (SII) which was duped for Rs. 1 Crore via a WhatsApp message sent by the threat actor posing as its CEO Adar Poonawalla. The messages were being sent to one of the institute’s directors. The transactions were then made to a few bank accounts, worth Rs. 1,01,01,554.
The police officials are looking for the identity of the accused, the one who sent the fraudulent messages, and the holder of the bank accounts to which the transactions were made.
How to Avoid Cyber Fraud?
With ever-increasing cases of cyber fraud via WhatsApp and other popular messaging platforms, users are recommended to stay vigilant and follow exercise caution to avoid any scam that may result in financial loss. Users must follow the given steps in order to safeguard themselves against cyber fraud:
1. Ensure to crosscheck the identity of a person or entity, if you receive messages from an unknown contact, claiming to be someone you know.
2. Crosscheck the authentication of the source from where you are receiving the messages.
3. Do not share your bank details with anyone. Since banks do not ask for such details, be cautious if the messages claim to be delivered from a bank.
4. Do not click on the links sent by a suspicious number. The link may lead to malicious websites that are capable of duping you into revealing your passwords and sensitive information.
Cyberfraud has become an increasingly troublesome form of cybercrime as more and more people are falling prey to different forms and kinds of cyberfraud. While reporting it to the cybercrime branch of the police is one solution, netizens must stay wary of lures presented on social media to trap them for financial purposes.
