Home · Health · Sep 1 archive
Accountant’s hacked phone used in Rs 3 crore whale phishing scam
Developing
Pune City Cyber Police said that the cyber fraudsters hacked his accountant’s phone, made it appear as though messages were being sent by the trader himself and then used the ruse to get three money transfers made from the company’s bank account.
The trader also checked the accountant’s mobile phone and found that his own name had been used to save the WhatsApp number from which the instructions were sent. An officer from the Cyber police station said, “Whale phishing, also known as a boss scam or CEO scam, is a highly targeted form of phishing in which fraudsters specifically target senior executives, business owners or individuals with access to large sums of money.
On checking the accountant’s computer, the company found that Rs three crore had been transferred from its account to the beneficiary account in three transactions. Finance teams should also adopt dual-approval mechanisms for high-value transactions and undergo regular awareness training to recognise signs of phishing and account compromise, officials said.
“Probe suggests that this malware was used to compromise the accountants phone, hack into the contacts and use the compromised device for the fraud,” said an officer.
What's confirmed
What's still developing
- Pune City Cyber Police said that the cyber fraudsters hacked his accountant’s phone, made it appear as though messages were being sent by the trader himself and then used the ruse to get three money transfers made…
- On checking the accountant’s computer, the company found that Rs three crore had been transferred from its account to the beneficiary account in three transactions.
- The trader also checked the accountant’s mobile phone and found that his own name had been used to save the WhatsApp number from which the instructions were sent.
- “Probe suggests that this malware was used to compromise the accountants phone, hack into the contacts and use the compromised device for the fraud,” said an officer.
- An officer from the Cyber police station said, “Whale phishing, also known as a boss scam or CEO scam, is a highly targeted form of phishing in which fraudsters specifically target senior executives, business owners…
- Finance teams should also adopt dual-approval mechanisms for high-value transactions and undergo regular awareness training to recognise signs of phishing and account compromise, officials said.
Sources
- The Indian Expresslink