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Hyderabad: A Hyderabad-based saree businessman who lost Rs 1 crore through a ‘boss impersonation scam’ recovered the full amount in 10 days with prompt intervention from the police.

According to Cyberabad Cybercrime Police, the accountant of a saree retail outlet received a financial request through a forged WhatsApp profile on August 4, which he believed to be that of the proprietor.

Acting on the request, he transferred Rs 1 crore from the victim’s Karur Vysya Bank account to an IndusInd Bank account.

During the investigation, police found that the amount had been routed through a corporate current account maintained in the name of Royal Moda Pvt. Ltd., which was allegedly being used as a mule account for routing fraudulent proceeds.

Police traced the accused, 37-year-old Deepak Kumar, from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and arrested him on August 8. He was produced before a Lucknow court, and a transit remand was obtained.

He was then brought to Hyderabad and produced before a court in Kukatpally, which remanded him to judicial custody.

The entire amount was secured and restored to the victim on August 14.

Further analysis through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) revealed links between the accused’s bank account and cybercrime cases registered in other states.

An investigation is in progress to identify the remaining accused, ascertain their respective roles, and trace the complete money trail.

Advisory

Police have asked people to verify every high-value financial request through an independent communication channel before transferring funds, and not to rely solely on WhatsApp messages, profile pictures, or display names to verify the identity of a person making a financial request.

In case one falls victim to cybercrime, they can call 1930 or report the incident through the NCRP portal to facilitate prompt action.