An alleged instance of whale phishing resulted in a city-centered real estate firm losing Rs. 40 lakh to cyber criminals who impersonated the company's director. The criminals deceived a staff member into transferring substantial amounts to a fake bank account.
Following a preliminary investigation by the Cyber Crime police team in Pune, an FIR was filed at Deccan Gymkhana police station on Sunday. This arose from a report lodged by the director of a real estate firm who is 39 years old.
The incident under scrutiny has been identified as 'whale phishing,' commonly known as either spear-phishing or CEO scam and it is currently being investigated thoroughly.
In these cases, cyber attackers impersonate company heads to manipulate senior officials into transferring large sums of money to fraudulent accounts. Over the past year, the Pune City and Pimpri Chinchwad police have investigated several instances of whale phishing and have arrested multiple suspects involved in organized cybercrime rackets.
In the latest case registered at the Deccan Gymkhana police station, a staffer at a real estate firm received a message a few months ago from an unknown phone number posing as the company's director.
The number featured the director's photo as the display picture. The sender claimed to be too busy to speak over the phone and instructed the staffer to make large transfers totaling Rs.40.6 lakh within a short period.
When the staffer eventually spoke with the director, it was clear that the director had not issued any instructions for the fund transfer. Consequently, the firm realized it had been swindled out of Rs.40.6 lakh. The police have since launched an investigation into the cell phone number and the bank account used for the fraud, which is registered at an address in Kushi Nagar, Uttar Pradesh.
From July of last year, the Pune City police have reported almost eight instances of 'whale phishing attacks.' In one case from November, the Pune-based global vaccine leader Serum Institute of India was defrauded of Rs.1 crore. In another case from February, a real estate company lost Rs.4 crore.
Unlike typical phishing scams that target a wide range of potential victims, whale phishing, or spear phishing, focuses on specific individuals—usually high-ranking officials responsible for handling finances within a company.
'Whale phishing' emphasizes targeting influential figures and gained popularity in the US in the late 2010s. Scammers have been known to manipulate staff into sharing confidential data, posing a significant threat beyond financial loss. The exposure of vital information could have serious repercussions on organizational functioning, authorities warn.
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