A Madhya Pradesh company associated with BJP lawmaker Sanjay Pathak was targeted by cyber fraudsters who impersonated a senior executive on WhatsApp, duping an accountant into transferring Rs 1.5 crore. The incident highlights the rising wave of digital scams across India.
Cyber fraudsters duped a company linked to Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker and mining businessman Sanjay Pathak by posing as a senior executive on WhatsApp and tricking an accountant into transferring Rs 1.5 crore, according to Madhya Pradesh police.
Katni superintendent of police Abhinay Vishwakarma said the message was sent on Wednesday between 2 pm and 3 pm to Shailesh Tiwari, a senior accountant at the firm. The sender appeared to be Badriprasad Gaur, the company’s managing director, and asked for the money to be moved into two bank accounts.
Believing the instruction was genuine, Tiwari sent the funds before discovering that the request had been fraudulent. Police later put the accounts on hold and managed to secure Rs 27 lakh, Vishwakarma said.
The case comes amid a string of costly digital scams across India, including recent WhatsApp-linked frauds in Hyderabad and Lucknow, where victims were persuaded to part with large sums through fake messages, investment pitches and impersonation tactics. Experts say such cases often rely on urgency, familiarity and pressure to bypass basic checks before payments are made.
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.
