‘Italian client’ hacks Mumbai businessman’s email, dupes him of Rs. 10.49 lakh

In July, Manjarawala sent an email to the Italian firm, stating that he wanted to buy some products from them. He received an email from the head of the company’s export department, who asked him to make an advance payment for the purchase to the company’s bank account in Spain.

A Borivli-based businessman was allegedly duped of Rs.10.49 lakh recently in a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack.

The fraudsters hacked the businessman’s official email account and posed as one of his clients from Italy and asked him to make a payment for a few products he had imported, to a bank account in Poland, said the police. (HT FILE)

The fraudsters hacked the businessman’s official email account and posed as one of his clients from Italy and asked him to make a payment for a few products he had imported, to a bank account in Poland, said the police.

The complainant, 41-year-old Amit Manjarawala, imports aquarium products from a firm in Italy and then sells them in India.

In July, Manjarawala sent an email to the Italian firm, stating that he wanted to buy some products from them. He received an email from the head of the company’s export department, who asked him to make an advance payment for the purchase to the company’s bank account in Spain.

“The complainant found it unusual, as he had been making payments to the company’s bank account in Italy itself. Despite his apprehensions, he made the payment to the said account, but it was declined owing to some error. He then sent an email to his client saying that he could not process the payment, following which the export department head of the firm asked him to make the payment to a bank account in Poland,” said a police officer from Borivli police station.

The complainant then made a payment of Rs.10.49 lakh to the bank account in Poland and sent emails to the Italy firm’s senior executive, informing them about it.

However, he did not get any response.

He then contacted the sales manager of the Italy firm, who spoke to the export department head about the payment made by Manjarawala.

However, the firm told him that their export head had not sent him any email asking for a payment in either Spain or Poland and further stated that the firm has a bank account only in Italy, the police said.

The complainant realised that his email account had been hacked and the fraudsters duped him by impersonating his Italy client by creating an email id similar to that of the firm’s. He approached the Borivli police last week and filed a complaint.

The officer said that a case under sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 66D (personation by using computer resource) of the Information Technology (IT) Act has been registered against an unidentified accused.

“We are in the process of getting information on the emails of the fraudsters from the internet service provider and will take the help of the cyber police too,” the officer said.