Hyderabad: Cyberabad Cyber Crime Police recovered Rs.1 crore within 10 days in a WhatsApp impersonation scam and restored the money to the victim.
Police arrested a 37-year-old man in connection with the case. Investigators traced the transferred funds and secured court orders that enabled the recovery.
The incident began on August 4 when an accountant at a saree retail outlet received a financial request through WhatsApp. He believed the message came from the outlet’s proprietor because scammers had created a forged profile.
Acting on the request, the accountant transferred Rs.1 crore from the victim’s Karur Vysya Bank account. The money moved to an IndusInd Bank account linked to the transaction.
Police traced the funds through a corporate current account held in the name of Royal Moda Pvt. Ltd. Investigators identified it as an alleged mule account used to receive the fraudulently transferred money.
The investigation led police to Deepak Kumar, a water-plant businessman from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Officers arrested him on August 8 and brought him to Cyberabad for further investigation.
Kumar was subsequently remanded to judicial custody. Meanwhile, police moved quickly to secure the money before the funds could move further through the financial network.
WhatsApp impersonation scam money restored to victim
Following police action and court intervention, authorities secured the required orders within a day. Police then restored the entire Rs.1 crore to the victim on August 14.
Further investigation through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal revealed possible links to cybercrime cases in other states. Investigators are now examining the wider money trail and the involvement of additional accused persons.
Inspector A. Manmohan, SI Srinivasulu and their team investigated the case. K. Pushpa, DCP, Cyber Crimes, Cyberabad, guided the investigation, while ACP A. Ravindar Reddy supervised the operation.
Cyberabad Police urged citizens to independently verify high-value financial requests. They advised people not to rely only on WhatsApp profile pictures, display names or messages when authorising large payments.
Police also urged citizens to report cyber fraud immediately. Victims can call 1930 or use the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal to report suspicious financial transactions.
The WhatsApp impersonation scam case highlights the risks of trusting financial instructions received through messaging platforms. Police advised businesses and individuals to verify payment requests through an independent communication channel.