Businesses in Hyderabad are increasingly targeted by scammers impersonating owners on WhatsApp, with recent cases leading to significant financial losses and prompting police warnings to verify urgent fund requests through multiple channels.
A Hyderabad private firm has reportedly lost Rs 1 crore after an employee was tricked by a WhatsApp message that appeared to come from the company owner, highlighting a pattern in the city of scammers using impersonation to push urgent fund transfers. Cyberabad Cyber Crime Police have registered a case and are investigating.
According to Telangana Today, the employee at Maisamma Retail Private Limited received a message on Tuesday from an unknown number claiming to be acting on the owner’s instructions. The sender said Rs 1 crore had to be moved immediately to settle a payment and supplied bank details. Trusting the request, the employee sent the money before trying to call back and discovering there was no reply. The owner later confirmed no such instruction had been given.
The complaint was then taken to Cyberabad Cybercrime police, who booked a case. The publication said the firm is run by Dilip Kumar, who lives in Nizampet. The incident follows another reported WhatsApp impersonation fraud in Hyderabad in which a businesswoman’s company lost Rs 1.2 crore after an accountant transferred funds to a fake account. In that case, the fraud was exposed only when a second suspicious request prompted direct confirmation with the owner.
Police and media reports have described similar scams in which fraudsters used stolen profile photographs and familiar names to gain the trust of staff handling payments. In one separate case reported by Deccan Chronicle, investigators said multiple mule accounts were used to move Rs 1.2 crore through several banks to avoid detection, and one suspect was arrested. The broader pattern has prompted repeated warnings from cybercrime officials, who say urgent money requests over messaging apps should always be checked through a second channel before any transfer is 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.
