A college accountant in Delhi was tricked into transferring Rs 80 lakh from the institution's bank account by a scamster impersonating a senior official of the institute. The scammer set up a fake WhatsApp profile using the name and picture of a senior college official, and directed the accountant to transfer the funds immediately. Trusting the profile, the accountant executed the transaction without verifying it over the phone.
However, the Delhi Police's cyber crime unit, Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO), not only arrested the key suspect but also managed to freeze and recover 100% of the defrauded amount within 48 hours.
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According to the complaint, an unknown person, using the identity of a senior official of the institution, contacted the college accountant on WhatsApp. The accused had set the senior official's name and photo as the WhatsApp profile.
The accused sent a message to the accountant asking to transfer the money immediately. The instructions in the message were framed in a way that the accountant felt the order had indeed come from the senior official of the institution.
After being pressured to make the transaction urgently and trusting the messages on WhatsApp, the accountant transferred Rs 80 lakh from the college's bank account to an IndusInd Bank account registered under the name N.S. Traders without verifying with the concerned official over the phone.
The fraud came to light shortly after, when the accountant verbally confirmed the transaction with the actual senior official, only to realize they had been duped.
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Once the FIR was registered, the IFSO team immediately initiated a technical probe. They tracked the banking transactions and traced the money to the N.S. Traders' account.
Acting swiftly before the money could be withdrawn or siphoned further, police contacted the bank and secured a lien/hold on the account, successfully freezing the entire Rs 80 lakh.
Following technical surveillance and bank account clues, the IFSO team tracked the suspect down to Ghaziabad and arrested him on October 29, 2026-just two days after the FIR was registered. The arrested suspect has been identified as Naushad.
According to the police, during interrogation, the accused revealed that other people were also involved in carrying out the cyber fraud. The police are now investigating who orchestrated the fraud, made the fake WhatsApp profile and who else was involved in the entire conspiracy.
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This case highlights a cyber threat called 'Boss Impersonation Fraud'. In this, cybercriminals assume the identity of a senior officer of a company, institution, or organization to target employees working under them.
In such cases, criminals adopt various methods, including creating a fake WhatsApp profile with the name and photo of a senior official, or gaining unauthorized access to an employee's WhatsApp account and using it.
Then, the fraudsters reach out to the accountant or employee handling financial transactions of any organisation to transfer money. They create high-pressure scenarios, citing confidentiality or extreme urgency to prevent the employee from cross-checking or verifying the request.
Police advise organizations to strictly implement dual-authorization protocols and voice-verification for all high-value financial transactions.
The message states that a large sum of money needs to be transferred immediately for some urgent work. Often, pressure is put on the employee by citing urgency and confidentiality, so that they do not make inquiries or verify.
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