Mumbai: A cyber fraudster impersonated industrialist Sheetal Bhagat to dupe her manager of Rs 4.8 lakh on Thursday. The manager, Manoj Shah, 71, received an email, purportedly from Bhagat, to transfer the amount through RTGS to a bank account in Delhi. Shah later sent a screenshot to Bhagat, who is currently in London, but she told him that she had never asked for the transfer. Bhagat is a socialite and was earlier married to businessman Atulya Mafatlal.
Shah is a manager with Sheetal Trading and Interior Pvt Ltd. After realising that the firm had been duped, he contacted the DB Marg police and told them that the email was received form ID 2r000cr@gmail.com, directing him to transfer the money as Bhagat was busy in a meeting. As the user name was 'Sheetal Bhagat', Shah didn't bother to check the ID.
Shah Transferred ₹4.8 L After Receiving A Mail From Same Email ID
The next day, on Friday, Shah again received an email from the same ID, with the bank account number and IFSC code to effect the transfer. As soon as he read the email, Shah transferred Rs 4.8 lakh and took a screenshot of the transaction and sent it to Bhagat on WhatsApp.
Bhagat called Shah and told him that she hadn't sent the email. It was then that Shah checked the ID and realised that the firm had been defrauded. The police have initiated a probe and have registered a case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act.