Bengaluru: A Bengaluru-based real estate company has lost ₹65 lakh in a sophisticated cyber fraud after scammers allegedly created a fake WhatsApp profile of the firm’s managing director and deceived an accountant into transferring the money.

The incident has once again highlighted the growing threat of impersonation scams targeting businesses through messaging platforms.

Fraudsters impersonated company owner

According to a complaint filed by Rajendran BK, Managing Director of Mythreyi Promoters & Developers Pvt Ltd, the fraud began on June 26 when the company’s accountant, Yashwanth, received a WhatsApp message from an unknown mobile number displaying Rajendran’s name and profile photograph.

Believing the message was genuine, Yashwanth responded to the sender.

The fraudsters first asked him to share the company’s bank statement. Soon afterwards, they instructed him to urgently transfer ₹65 lakh to a specified bank account, claiming it was an official business transaction.

₹65 lakh transferred through RTGS

Trusting the instructions, Yashwanth transferred the entire amount via RTGS from the company’s bank account on June 29.

The fraud came to light only after he informed Rajendran about the transaction. Upon verification, they discovered that the beneficiary account belonged to Fly Hind Tours and Travels Pvt Ltd, revealing that the WhatsApp profile had been created solely to impersonate the company’s owner.

Cyber police register case

After realising they had been cheated, the company immediately contacted the national cybercrime helpline 1930 and later lodged a complaint with the South Cyber Crime Police on June 30.

Police have registered a case under the provisions of the Information Technology Act and launched an investigation to trace those behind the scam.

Cybercrime experts have urged businesses to verify financial instructions through direct phone calls or official communication channels before authorising high-value transactions, especially when requests are received through messaging applications#Bengaluru #CyberCrime #WhatsAppScam #OnlineFraud #CyberSafety #Karnataka #NewsKarnataka