Hyderabad: A multi-national company located in Hyderabad has fallen prey to cyber crooks who, by sharing details of their “new” bank account via a spoof email id of the company’s client from West Africa, siphoned off `8 crore from the company. According to sources, the company, which has multiple branches across the globe, also has a branch in Madhapur. They are into the import and export of tools and do business with an Africa-based client. Recently, the city-based company was about to finalise a deal worth `8 crore to purchase the material.
The source explained, “The cyber crooks, who had hacked the e-mail of the company’s client in Africa, accessed the e-mail conversations and learned about the deal that was supposed to be closed soon. The fraudsters created a spoof e-mail id, similar to that of the African company, and sent an e-mail to the Madhapur company asking them to transfer the money into their new bank account.”
“When the company checked with their client regarding the material, they learned that they had been deceived,” said the source. Cyberabad police registered a case for further investigation.
A senior police official from the Cyberabad commissionerate confirmed the incident and said, “The fraud has taken place at Mali, a West African country. The fraudsters changed only one letter in the original e-mail id and convinced the Madhapur company to transfer money into their bank account. The amount, which was transferred to one bank account, was later distributed to multiple accounts. A case has been registered. Based on the outcome of the investigation, further action will be initiated.”
