Mumbai Cyber Fraud: 61-Year-Old Accountant Duped Of ₹30 Lakh By Fraudster Impersonating Company Director; Case Registered

Mumbai: A 61-year-old accountant at a Khar-based private company was duped of Rs 30 lakh by cyber fraudster impersonating the company’s director.

According to the FIR, the complainant, Sangita Rajpal, resides in Bandra West and works in the accounts department of Gesports Private Limited, located in Khar West. Rushendra Sinha is the director of the company. The company holds an account in a private bank, and Rajpal is responsible for handling all financial transactions.

On March 24, at 7.8pm, Rajpal received a message from an unknown mobile number via WhatsApp. The sender’s profile displayed the name and photo of Sinha. The message stated, “I am Rushindra Sinha, This is my new WhatsApp you save it”, She saved the number as the company’s director.

The next day at 9.50am, she received a message from this fraudster number. The message began with the question, “Are you in the office?” When she replied affirmatively, the sender provided her with bank account details and claimed to be in an important project meeting, instructing her to urgently transfer Rs 50 lakh to the mentioned account.

Believing the message to be from her director, Rajpal initially transferred Rs 30 lakh to the given account. Later, she received another message requesting the transfer of an additional Rs 20 lakh. However, as the company account did not have sufficient funds, she informed the sender. The fraudster then asked her to transfer the amount from her personal bank account.

This raised Rajpal’s suspicions, prompting her to directly call Rushendra Sinha. Upon learning about the situation, Sinha was shocked and clarified that he had never sent any such messages or shared any bank details with her.

Rajpal immediately filed a complaint with the Western Cyber Cell and also contacted the Cyber Helpline and a case was registered.