Maharashtra Cyber saves Rs 90L lost by travel firm in `whale phishing` attack

Maharashtra Cyber managed to solve five online fraud cases involving an amount of Rs 1.47 crore in the last 48 hours, including Rs 90 lakh lost by a Bhiwandi-based travel agency in a `whale phishing” attack, a senior police official said on Friday, reported news agency PTI.

A whale phishing attack is one in which online fraudsters pose as trusted sources in an organisation to dupe high-level executives to gain access to funds or information.

The official said the accountant of the travel agency was contacted by the accused through WhatsApp posing as the firm`s owner, reported PTI.

“The accountant was contacted from a new mobile phone number and was asked by the cyber fraudster to transfer Rs 90 lakh urgently for a business project. He did so in a single transaction into an account provided by the accused. However, the accountant soon realised he had been duped and registered a complaint with the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal,” the official said, reported PTI.

The Maharashtra Cyber immediately contacted all stakeholders, including banks and financial intermediaries, and managed to freeze Rs 90 lakh, he added, reported PTI.

“In the last 48 hours, Maharashtra Cyber successfully solved five such cases of cyber fraud involving Rs 1.47 crore. We ensured freezing of 100 per cent of the amount. The process of refunding money to rightful owners is underway,” the official said.

Fraudsters squeeze Rs 12.50 lakh out of software engineer

Seeking divine intervention for overcoming insecurities of life cost dear to a Mumbai-based software engineer who paid Rs 12.50 lakh to cyber crooks disguised as astrologers who exploited his vulnerabilities to extort money, officials said, reported PTI.

The victim, a resident of the BKC area, had downloaded the DevineTalk app dedicated to `astrology` to find solace in life, unaware that sharing personal issues is going to leave him poorer financially and frustrated, reported PTI.

After downloading the app, the techie spoke to a “spiritual guide”, identified as Nishant, in January. He was suggested to perform a ritual to heal his life by paying Rs 6,300, police said.

After brooding for a week, the victim finally convinced himself to perform the ritual and contacted Nishant again, who told him that one “bade Maharaj” would perform the `kriya` or the procedure, reported PTI.

“Nishant facilitated the conversation between the software engineer and Bade Maharaj through a conference call,” as per the FIR, reported PTI.

The fraudsters then started showing their true colours with Bade Maharaj demanding Rs 15,300 more to start the ritual and Rs 28,000 under a different pretext. The victim met these demands by paying up electronically, police said, reported PTI.

“When the victim demanded proof that rituals were performed by Bade Maharaj, the latter called up in the night and demanded an additional Rs 20,000 saying some rituals are incomplete,” police said.

When the software engineer hesitated, the Bade Maharaj told him that incomplete rituals could harm his life.

Police said Nishant again facilitated a conversation between the techie and Bade Maharaj. By this time, the victim had ended up paying Rs 2.41 lakh.

However, the fraudsters didn`t stop.

They convinced the software engineer that incomplete rituals would harm him at deeper levels and extorted more money.

The victim pulled various resources including a credit card and even borrowed from private money lenders to pay up.

“He collectively paid more than Rs 12.20 lakh over six days in January,” an official said, reported PTI.

As the accused demanded more money, the victim sought help from his friends who told him that he was taken for a ride by cyber fraudsters in the name of astrology, reported PTI.

The software engineer then contacted the customer support of the Astrology app, where a woman assured him about finishing the rituals and also offered three `meditation` sessions for free, the official said, reported PTI.

Meanwhile, the techie checked customer reviews of DevineTalk and realised that many people had complained about fraud practices.

He lodged an FIR on Monday with the Cyber Police Station, leading to the registration of an FIR under various sections of the BNS and Information Technology Act.

(With inputs from PTI)