Hyderabad Police Caution against New Impersonation Scam Targeting Business Heads
Cybercriminals have launched a new type of WhatsApp impersonation fraud specifically targeting business heads, CEOs, CFOs, and accountants of large corporations: Sajjanar
Hyderabad: Cybercriminals have launched a new type of WhatsApp impersonation fraud specifically targeting business heads, CEOs, CFOs, and accountants of large corporations. By sending malicious phishing links to official email addresses, they are infiltrating computers with malware to gain full remote access to the systems, said Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar here on Saturday.
In a post on ‘X’, he said that once they gain control of a system, the attackers exploit active WhatsApp Web sessions to send misleading messages to accountants while posing as the CEO or CFO. They use social engineering tactics, claiming to be in an urgent meeting and unable to take calls, to trick staff into transferring crores of rupees immediately to their fraudulent accounts.
Since the messages appear to come from the actual WhatsApp accounts of the top executives, accountants often believe them to be genuine and process the payments. With several such cases being reported recently within the Hyderabad Commissionerate jurisdiction, every company must remain highly vigilant.
One should never blindly trust financial requests received on WhatsApp, even if they appear to be from superiors. It is essential to immediately call the person concerned directly to verify the authenticity of the message before making any transaction.
Companies should ensure that high-quality firewalls and antivirus software are installed on all office systems. Additionally, users must make it a habit to log out of WhatsApp Web after every use.
“If you fall victim to a cyber-fraud, do not delay and immediately call the 1930 helpline number or file a complaint at http://cybercrime.gov.in,” he advised.
