Team Herald
PANJIM: In a major breakthrough, Goa’s Cyber Crime Police have arrested a cyber fraudster for impersonating the chairman of a Goa-based private limited company and cheating an employee out of Rs 93.21 lakh.
The accused, identified as Nahim Mukarram Khan, 19, from Faridabad, Haryana, was apprehended following an investigation. Authorities have frozen three bank accounts linked to the fraud, holding a total of Rs 71 lakh.
The case came to light after the Deputy General Manager (Accounts) of the company lodged a complaint stating that between December 3 and 5 last year, an unknown individual used two WhatsApp numbers to impersonate the company’s chairman. The accused contacted the complainant via WhatsApp and, by pretending to be in an urgent meeting, convinced him to transfer a total of Rs 93.21 lakh into multiple bank accounts.
Following the money trail, the police identified a primary bank account in the name of Nahim Khan, which had received Rs 35.60 lakh. Through technical surveillance, Khan was traced to Faridabad, Haryana, where he was arrested by a team from the Cyber Crime Police Station.
Khan has been booked under Sections 318(4), 319(2) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 66-C and 66-D of the Information Technology Act. He has been placed under arrest, and investigations are ongoing.
To recover the defrauded money, Cyber Crime officials managed to freeze Rs 33 lakh in the accused’s bank account, along with additional amounts of Rs 31 lakh and Rs 7.57 lakh in other accounts, bringing the total frozen funds to Rs 71 lakh.
Investigations revealed that the victim received WhatsApp messages from a number displaying the chairman’s name and picture. The accused, posing as the chairman, instructed the employee to transfer funds to various bank accounts under the pretext of urgent business transactions.
The Cyber Cell has issued a warning to the public, advising them to be cautious of fraudulent messages from individuals impersonating known persons. Officials have urged people to verify the identity of the sender before transferring money and to check the account holder’s name.
Residents have been encouraged to report any such incidents to their local police station or the Cyber Crime Police Station in Ribandar immediately.