Now Reading: WhatsApp fraud dupes BJP MLA-linked firm of Rs 1.5 crore
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WhatsApp fraud dupes BJP MLA-linked firm of Rs 1.5 crore
Fraudsters posing as a senior director tricked a company linked to BJP MLA Sanjay Pathak into transferring Rs 1.5 crore via WhatsApp, Madhya Pradesh police said on Thursday. The incident occurred between…
The Story in Brief
Fraudsters posing as a senior director tricked a company linked to BJP MLA Sanjay Pathak into transferring Rs 1.5 crore via WhatsApp, Madhya Pradesh police said on Thursday. The incident occurred between 2 pm and 3 pm on Wednesday, according to Katni Superintendent of Police Abhinay Vishwakarma.
Senior accountant Shailesh Tiwari received a message from an account appearing to belong to managing director Badriprasad Gaur, asking him to transfer the money to two bank accounts. Tiwari complied and later realised the fraud. Police have frozen those accounts and recovered Rs 27 lakh. An investigation is ongoing, the SP added.
The Indian Opinion
This fraud highlights two worrying trends: the ease of impersonating senior officials on WhatsApp and the weak verification procedures in Indian companies. While police acted swiftly to freeze Rs 27 lakh, that is less than 2% of the stolen amount. Even a firm linked to a sitting MLA fell for this, so corporate accountability, not victim-blaming, is the real issue. The test now is whether the remaining Rs 1.23 crore can be traced and the perpetrators caught.
Source: siasat.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
