Chemicals trader loses ₹10 lakh to email-spoofing fraud

The police said that the company regularly obtains chemicals, pharmaceutical products and related raw materials from companies in India and exports them abroad, as well as imports similar products from overseas companies to be supplied to Indian customers.

Mumbai: A Khar-based chemicals trading firm was cheated of ₹10 lakh after the accused allegedly spoofed the email ID of one of the company’s raw materials suppliers and fooled their accounts department into paying the amount.

“The accused knew exactly when to send the email – just a day after the invoice was raised – and the wording and language of the email, too, did not raise any suspicions. The modus operandi suggests that the accused were waiting for an opportune moment to strike. We are investigating all possibilities, including business email compromise through spear phishing, as well as insider involvement,”said a police officer. (Image for representation)

As per the police, an FIR was registered on Wednesday based on an application submitted last month by Kiran Shingre, an accountant with the firm located at the Simran Plaza building in Khar.

The police said that the company regularly obtains chemicals, pharmaceutical products and related raw materials from companies in India and exports them abroad, as well as imports similar products from overseas companies to be supplied to Indian customers.

“On January 3, the company placed an order for some raw materials from a firm called SP Products, which has its business account in the ICICI bank branch in Bhayander. SP Products raised an invoice for ₹43 lakh on the same day. However, the next day, the accounts department at the Khar firm received another email in the name of SP Products, seeking an advance payment of ₹10 lakh into a bank account located in Delhi,” said an officer with the Khar police.

The officer added that the amount was released immediately to not delay the order. However, on January 5, they received a call from SP Products, informing them that the funds had not been received. However, when the Khar firm checked with their bank, they were told that the cheque had been cleared immediately.

“After careful analysis, it was discovered that the second email had come from a spoof account, after which Shingre submitted the application, along with relevant details and documents, on January 6. We conducted preliminary inquiries and registered an FIR of cheating under the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Information Technology Act,” said the officer.

Based on the timing of the email, the police suspect that the accused may have gained unauthorised access to the email accounts of either the Khar firm or SP Products.

“The accused knew exactly when to send the email – just a day after the invoice was raised – and the wording and language of the email, too, did not raise any suspicions. The modus operandi suggests that the accused were waiting for an opportune moment to strike. We are investigating all possibilities, including business email compromise through spear phishing, as well as insider involvement,” the officer said.