Maharashtra Cyber freezes ₹90L defrauded amount in an online scam

Maharashtra Cyber foiled a ₹90 lakh fraud from a Bhiwandi travel agency by freezing the transaction after the accountant fell for a phishing scam.

MUMBAI: Prompt action by the Maharashtra Cyber has prevented ₹90 lakh from reaching to cyber frauds from a travel agency in Bhiwandi, whose accountant fell victim to a sophisticated whale phishing fraud on Thursday.

Maharashtra Cyber freezes ₹90L defrauded amount in an online scam

Police said the cybercriminals connected with the agency’s accountant via a WhatsApp message, by impersonating as the firm’s owner and pressuring him online into making an urgent payment of ₹90 lakh for a purported business project. Deceived by the fraudulent communication, the accountant transferred the entire amount in a single transaction to the cybercriminals. Once the company realised that it was a scam, they reported the incident on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in). Maharashtra Cyber then immediately initiated action, coordinating with the concerned banks and financial intermediaries to hold the transaction.

Through swift, coordinated efforts, the ₹90 lakh was successfully frozen, preventing it from reaching the cybercriminals. The refund process to the travel agency is currently underway.

In the last 48 hours, Maharashtra Cyber has successfully resolved five cyber fraud complaints, ensuring that all that amount sent in such fraudulent transanctions, totalling to ₹1.47 crore, was swiftly frozen. Its office serves as the nodal agency for cybersecurity and cybercrime enforcement in the state, with a 24x7 Command and Control Centre that is staffed by over 100 skilled cyber analysts who handle two dedicated cyber helplines, 1930 and 1945.