Hackers steal Rs 3 cr from bank accounts of jewellery firm in Pune
Officials said the firm has multiple collection accounts at its branches. The collections are pooled in and deposited into a common account with a common customer identification number and password that is used for internet banking.
Hackers stole nearly Rs 3 crore from several accounts of a prominent jewellery brand in Maharashtra’s Pune through 40 suspicious transactions over three days, police have said.
A first information report was lodged by Aditya Modak, an administrative official of PN Gadgil and Sons, with the Sinhagad Police on Thursday and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) is investigating the case, officials said.
Deputy commissioner (EOW and cybercrime) Sambhaji Kadam said hackers stole the amount from the firm’s account between November 11 and 13.
“The hackers bugged the e-banking system, broke the security codes and used fake identities to open bank accounts. The stolen amount was later transferred to different bank accounts and we are investigating the trail,” cyber police station in-charge, inspector Jayram Paigude, said.
Officials said the firm has multiple collection accounts at its branches. The collections are pooled in and deposited into a common account with a common customer identification number and password that is used for internet banking.
The hackers changed the password and other important security details of the account, withdrew the money and transferred it to other bank accounts.
All of these accounts are under investigation and a forensic report will be prepared to reach the culprits, investigators said.
The firm’s accounting staff came to know about the crime when they could not log into the account online on November 13 and got the message that the someone was logged-in elsewhere.
They immediately alerted the computer department of the bank but before that, the hacker had managed to steal almost Rs 3 crore from the account.
PNG Gadgil and Sons is located on Sinhagad Road and has several branches across the city and the state.
