Police Crack Rs 2.7-crore Impersonation Fraud

Hyderabad:Cyberabad cybercrime police said they had cracked a Rs 2.7-crore impersonation fraud involving the Greenko Group’s senior executives. The fraudsters had impersonated the group’s managing director on WhatsApp and deceived the chief financial officer (CFO) into transferring Rs 2.7 crore to a fake company account, under the pretext of “urgent client payments.” Two transfers – Rs 1.95 crore and Rs 75 lakh – were made before the CFO realised that it was a fraud.

Police said the accused — Sandeep Roop and Avinash Kumar — created WhatsApp profiles using the MD’s photograph and used urgency-based communication to manipulate internal fund approvals. The fraud came to light when the CFO shared transaction details with the MD’s office, which denied issuing such requests.

Two accused were arrested in June, while two more, Sandeep and Avinash, were held in Bengaluru this month based on further leads.

The cybercrime wing police detected two cases and arrested seven offenders across states – five linked to cyber fraud and two to impersonation cases. Officials said the arrested offenders formed part of a larger network supplying bank accounts and SIM cards to cybercriminals.

Seized property includes 33 mobile phones, two laptops, 32 cheque books, 23 ATM cards, and 48 SIM cards.

The Cyberabad cybercrime police also secured 240 refund orders in 53 cases, returning `75.12 lakh to victims through court orders.