Pramesh S Jain
Karnataka Cyber Command has busted a Rs.1.40-crore cyber fraud in which a gang allegedly impersonated a university president on WhatsApp and duped an accountant into transferring Rs.1.40 crore from the institution’s bank account.
Four persons have been arrested and Rs.8.50 lakh in cash and four mobile phones have been seized.
The case came to light after Santosh A.S.an employee of a deemed-to-be university,approached the police on September 9 and reported that an unidentified person had created a fake WhatsApp profile using the photograph of university president Dr Chenraj Roychand and a new mobile number.
According to the complaint,on September 8 at around 10.03 am,the fraudster contacted university accountant Vinay Bhushan,posing as the president,and enquired about the balance in the university’s bank account.
At around 11.34 am,the accused instructed him over WhatsApp to transfer Rs.1.40 crore.Believing the message to be genuine, the accountant transferred the money.
A case was registered at the South Division Cyber Crime Police Station under Section 66(D) of the IT Act and Sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the BNS.
How the gang operated:
Investigators found that the accused first sent a ZIP file to staff members of the institution.
By accessing the system through the Chrome browser and logging into WhatsApp Web,they allegedly obtained access to institutional data without the staff’s knowledge.
The gang then monitored the institution’s financial transactions for 15 to 20 days before making the fraudulent transfer.
The accused allegedly impersonated the university president while communicating with the accountant.
Foreign IP addresses were also found to have been used during the transactions.
Based on technical inputs,the police arrested Annayya (25) in KR Puram,Bengaluru.
Two other accused,Buspalli Ravikumar Reddy (26) and Ambaraya (39),were arrested in Hyderabad during a raid.
Based on information provided by them,police apprehended Syed Wajihuddin Quadri (25) in Hyderabad when he arrived to collect the money.
All four accused have been produced before court.A fifth accused,Sunny alias David,is absconding,and efforts are under way to trace him.
Mule accounts used
Police said the gang had a wider network.According to the investigation,Sunny allegedly instructed Annayya to lure friends and acquaintances with promises of money, get bank accounts and cheque books opened in their names and hand over the account details to him.
Ravikumar Reddy and Ambaraya were allegedly kept ready in Hyderabad,while Quadri was summoned there to withdraw the funds through cheques and hand over the cash to Ambaraya.
During the operation,police seized ₹8.50 lakh in cash, allegedly linked to another online fraud case in Aurangabad,Maharashtra,besides four mobile phones.
Interrogation reportedly revealed that the accused had used more than 60 mule bank accounts in 22 online fraud cases across several states.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Cyber Command DGP Pranab Mohanty,with ADGP Chandrashekhar A,and DIG H.D.Anand Kumar overseeing the investigation.ACP Naveen Kumar L.
of the South Division Cyber Crime Police Station, PI Siddappa and the crime detection squad were involved in tracing and arresting the accused.
Police warning
Cyber Command has advised people to independently verify any WhatsApp message from a superior seeking an urgent financial transfer, even if it carries the person’s photograph.
Police have also warned people not to open unknown ZIP files or suspicious links received through messaging platforms and not to allow others to use their bank accounts for commissions.
Anyone who loses money in an online fraud should immediately contact the cybercrime helpline 1930,police said.
