Mumbai: A leading Indian pharmaceutical company has fallen victim to a sophisticated cyber fraud, losing ₹22.31 crore in an elaborate email scam. The fraud was uncovered when the company’s finance department attempted to verify a suspicious transaction with a U.S.-based partner.
The case has been registered at the Central Region Cyber Police Station following a written complaint by the company’s 41-year-old senior finance manager. An official from the cyber police confirmed that an FIR has been filed, and a detailed investigation is underway.
According to the police, the fraud began on October 27, 2023, when the company's senior manager and vice president of the finance department received an email purportedly from the Head of International Operations of their U.S.-based partner company. The email claimed there were tax-related discrepancies with a recent payment and requested that the funds be refunded.
Shortly after, another email—allegedly from the company’s internal accounting manager—provided new bank account details at Fifth Third Bank, USA, for the refund. Trusting the legitimacy of the communication, the company transferred USD 6,161,336 (approximately ₹51.30 crore) via a SWIFT transaction to the provided account.
The scam unraveled when the company reached out to the actual Head of International Operations at the U.S.-based company, only to learn that no such refund request had been made. A subsequent internal investigation revealed that the emails were sent from a fake domain designed to closely mimic the legitimate one, deceiving company officials into believing the communication was authentic.
Realizing the extent of the fraud, the pharmaceutical company promptly lodged complaints with the Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department in the U.S. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
