Mumbai Cyber Fraud: Company Duped Of ₹2.30 Crore In Microsoft Teams Impersonation Scam; FIR Registered

Mumbai, August 6, 2026: A Mumbai-based company has allegedly been cheated of Rs 2.30 crore after cyber fraudsters impersonated the company's directors on Microsoft Teams and tricked senior finance officials into transferring funds to a fraudulent bank account.

According to the FIR, Parameswaran Mahadev Ayyar (64), a resident of Dombivli and a Senior Manager at Apar Industries Limited, Nariman Point, has lodged a complaint in connection with the fraud.

Ayyar has been working with the company for the past 30 years and handles banking transactions. He reports to Vinayak Krishnaji Lele (65), Senior Vice President (Finance).

Fraud Executed Through Microsoft Teams

On July 31, at around 2.55 pm, Lele was added to a Microsoft Teams group chat titled "Work Group". The group appeared to include the company's directors, Chaitanya Desai and Kushal Desai, using what appeared to be their genuine Microsoft Teams IDs.

Before Lele was added, he could see an ongoing discussion between the two directors regarding a business contract, making the conversation appear authentic.

After joining the group, a user posing as Kushal Desai asked Lele to confirm the company's bank balance. Once the balance was shared, the impersonator instructed him to transfer Rs 23 million (Rs 2.30 crore) to a party and stated that the beneficiary's bank account details would be shared shortly. The account details of MB Rubber, West Bengal, maintained with Bandhan Bank, were subsequently posted in the chat.

Acting on these instructions, Lele directed Ayyar to process the payment. Ayyar then issued an RTGS instruction to the company's bank and transferred Rs 2.30 crore from the company's account to the beneficiary account. A copy of the payment instruction was also shared in the Microsoft Teams chat, as requested by the fraudster.

Fraud Detected During Review

The fraud came to light later that day when Arpan Shah, while reviewing the day's transactions, noticed the unusually large transfer and sought clarification. He was informed that the transaction had been carried out on the instructions of Kushal Desai through Lele.

Since the beneficiary was not a regular business associate, Shah asked whether Lele had personally spoken to Kushal Desai. After Lele replied that he had not received any phone call, the officials verified the matter with Kushal Desai, who denied creating any such Microsoft Teams group or issuing payment instructions.

It was then discovered that cyber fraudsters had impersonated the company's directors and fraudulently induced the transfer. According to the complaint, the amount was transferred on July 31 from the company's bank account to various beneficiary accounts.

Police Register FIR

The complainant reported the incident to the National Cyber Crime Helpline (1930) on August 3. Copies of the Microsoft Teams conversations have also been submitted as evidence.

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Based on the complaint, the South Cyber Police Station has registered a case against unidentified persons who allegedly impersonated the company's directors through Microsoft Teams and against the holders of the beneficiary bank accounts that received the fraudulently transferred funds. Further investigation is underway.

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