A Nagpur accountant transferred Rs 1.30 crore through RTGS after a fraudster used his employer’s photograph to impersonate the company owner on WhatsApp.
A Nagpur accountant was allegedly tricked into transferring Rs 1.30 crore after a fraudster posed as the owner of his company on WhatsApp, in a case that adds to a growing list of impersonation scams targeting Indian businesses. Police said the money was sent after the employee received messages from an unfamiliar number using the company boss’s photograph, making the account appear authentic.
According to the complaint filed by Amit Pradeep Ghate, 43, who works as an accountant at Kesar India Limited in the Sadar area, the sender first asked about the balance in the company’s bank account. The fraudster then provided bank details and urged Ghate to move the funds through the Real Time Gross Settlement system. Believing he was dealing with the actual owner, Ghate complied and transferred Rs 1.30 crore.
The deception came to light only when Ghate checked with the real company owner, Yash Gopal Gupta, who denied giving any such instruction. By then, the money had already been moved to the account provided by the impostor. Nagpur’s Cyber Police Station has since registered a case against an unidentified accused under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, and investigators are trying to identify both the person behind the fake WhatsApp profile and the bank account used to receive the cash.
The case fits a pattern seen in other recent frauds in the region and beyond, where criminals rely less on technical hacking and more on social engineering, the practice of manipulating people into handing over money or information. In one recent Nagpur case reported by The Times of India, a trader was cheated out of Rs 1.37 crore in a cryptocurrency scam after being lured with promises of high returns. Another report from Navi Mumbai described a similar WhatsApp-based impersonation scheme that cost a company Rs 85 lakh.
Police across India have repeatedly warned that such scams can succeed even without victims sharing one-time passwords, clicking links or installing remote-access software. In another recent example reported by The Economic Times, a chartered accountant in Lucknow lost money after replying to a fraudulent WhatsApp debit alert, underscoring how increasingly convincing messages can prompt victims to act before verifying the source.
Disclaimer: This article is intended to inform and educate, not to recommend or endorse any financial product, investment or strategy. Please consider your own financial circumstances and seek professional advice where appropriate before making financial decisions.
