Maharashtra Cyber recovers Rs 90 lakh lost in ‘whale phishing attack’
The Maharashtra State Cyber Department has frozen Rs 90 lakh stolen from a travel agency in Bhiwandi through a whale phishing scam. Cybercriminals impersonated the agency’s owner and tricked the company’s accountant into transferring the amount via WhatsApp.
The fraudsters contacted the accountant from an unknown number, claiming it was the owner’s new number, and pressured him to make an urgent payment for a business project. Believing the request to be genuine, the accountant transferred the entire sum.
The scam was discovered when the company realised the owner had not made any such request. The incident was reported on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
Maharashtra Cyber coordinated with banks and financial institutions to block the transaction, preventing the money from reaching the fraudsters. The process of returning the amount to the victim is underway.
In the last 48 hours, Maharashtra Cyber has resolved five cases of cyber fraud, freezing a total of Rs 1.475 crore in fraudulent transactions. The department is implementing the Maharashtra Cyber Security Project, which includes a 24×7 Command and Control Centre in Navi Mumbai, staffed by over 100 cyber analysts. It also operates two cyber helplines – Dial 1930 and Dial 1945 – for reporting cyber fraud.
Authorities have urged people to verify sources before making financial transactions and to report cyber fraud immediately through the helpline or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
