Surat: A city-based company lost Rs 20 lakh to cyberfraud after scammers hacked its accountant’s mobile phone, impersonated a company director on WhatsApp and induced the accountant to transfer funds to a third-party bank account.According to the FIR registered at Cyber Crime police station on Monday, Dharmesh Kapadia, 49, owns Etherbit Pvt Ltd in the Althan area. His nephew, Harsh Vakhariya, is a director in the firm. After Vakhariya left for the US on April 30, responsibility for accounts and payments was handed over to accountant Jay Jadav.On July 29, Jadav received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. The sender introduced himself as Harsh Vakhariya and told Jadav to save the new number. The WhatsApp profile displayed Vakhariya’s photograph.The next day, Jadav got another message from the same number. The sender asked him to tell him the company’s bank balance. Jadav sent a screenshot showing a balance of Rs 20.12 lakh.The fraudster then shared bank account details of an entity called “Krishna Traders” and instructed Jadav to transfer Rs 20 lakh urgently. He claimed to be in a meeting and said he would speak later. After the transfer, Jadav was asked to share the transaction details.On seeing the profile picture and finding the conversation style similar to that of the director, Jadav believed the messages were genuine and transferred the money.The fraud came to light a few days later when Harsh Vakhariya learnt about the transaction. He informed his uncle, Dharmesh Kapadia, who lodged a complaint.During the inquiry, it emerged that Jadav had downloaded a ZIP file sent on June 2 by a person posing as a Reserve Bank of India representative. The message, which carried the company’s name, warned about fraudulent transactions and instructed him to take precautions. Investigators suspect the file enabled the fraudsters to gain access to his mobile phone.
