Ahmedabad: Email account hacked, trader cheated of Rs 25 lakh

AHMEDABAD: Durga Prasad Jain (49), a resident of Shahibaug, who owns a company and deals with foreign clients, has lodged a complaint with the cyber cell that mail ID his Italian client's Mumbai-based agent was hacked and instead of the original account in which he used to deposit money, details of a different account were sent to him.

Inspector V B Barad of the cyber cell, said Jain fell into the trap and transferred 31,000 euros (about Rs 25 lakh) in the account number mentioned in the hacked mail from his account in a nationalised bank. "We have initiated process to locate the account holder," added Barad.

According to the complaint lodged by Jain, he had a meeting with Dhaval Gandhi - Italian service provider's Mumbai-based agent - at his office in Ahmedabad. "According to the complainant, he had contacted the Italian firm to upgrade technology. The complainant received a mail from Gandhi mentioning details of the bank account to which the amount was to be transferred. On January 8, Jain's company transferred the amount through his bank's foreign exchange branch located at Lal Darwaza," Barad added.

Jain was shocked to know when he talked to Gandhi over phone that his mail ID was hacked, and the accounts details were not the one in which the money was to be transferred. "We have registered an FIR based on the complaint submitted by Jain," added Barad.