Mumbai, April 2: In a major case of cyber fraud, a Mumbai-based furniture company has allegedly been duped of nearly ₹ 89.34 lakh through an email spoofing scam involving a foreign supplier. The Central Region Cyber Police Station has registered an offence and launched an investigation into the matter.
Complaint details and company background
According to the complaint filed by a 33-year-old Operations Manager residing in Vile Parle East, he has been working with Di Lusso Furniture LLP since 2019 and is currently serving as a manager and deals in importing furniture based on customer requirements.
Initial transaction with Belgium-based supplier
As per the complaint, the company regularly communicated with Cineak, a Belgium-based firm, through its export manager Kim Helemans via official email (kim@cineak.com) and landline communication.
On December 17, 2025, the company transferred an advance payment of € 82,476.50 to the supplier’s bank account at Bank J. Van Breda and Co NV, which was acknowledged by the supplier via email, confirming receipt of 50% payment.
Spoofed email leads to fraudulent transfer
The remaining payment was scheduled to be made by March 24, 2026. However, on March 20, 2026, the company received an email from a spoofed email ID (kim@cinaek.com), closely resembling the original, claiming that due to an ongoing audit and government tax scrutiny, the company could not receive funds in the previous bank account. The sender requested that the balance payment be made to a new bank account and assured that updated details would be shared.
Believing the email to be genuine, Di Lusso Furniture transferred another € 82,476.50 (approximately ₹ 89.34 lakh) on March 24, 2026, to an account with Banco Santander Totta.
However, from March 25, 2026, the original Cineak email ID began sending reminders stating that the payment had not been received. This raised suspicion, and upon internal verification, it was discovered that the bank account details in the fraudulent email had been altered.
Investigation underway into organised cyber fraud
Further examination revealed discrepancies in the email ID, confirming that it was a spoofed email used to divert funds fraudulently. The company reported the incident to the national cyber helpline (1930) on March 30.
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Based on the complaint, a case has been registered against an unidentified person operating the fake email ID and the holder of the beneficiary bank account where the funds were transferred. Police suspect a well-organised cyber fraud involving email spoofing and financial diversion and are investigating the case further.
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