City builder cheated of Rs 67 lakh by cybercrook

PUNE: The cybercrime police have booked an unidentified suspect for duping a city-based builder of Rs 67 lakh.
According to a complaint registered by the staffer of a prominent construction firm, the conman used the photograph of the builder as the profile image of a mobile messaging application for committing the crime.
"The complainant, who works with the finance department, lodged a complaint with us on Thursday evening. We have registered a case of cheating and further probe is on," senior police inspector Meenal Patil said.
"The mobile number from which the message was received was different, but the profile image was of the builder. The conman posed as the builder and informed his employee that he was busy in a business meeting. The staffer was then asked to urgently transfer the amount to a back account," another police officer said.
"The staffer did not carry out any due diligence or checked with other seniors of the company and transferred the money to the bank account. Preliminary probe has revealed that the money was in no time transferred to other accounts with private banks located in Assam, Haryana and Delhi. Also, the number used by the fraudsters for contacting the staffer is an internet number," the officer added.
This is the second such case this year wherein a company has been duped in a similar fashion. "Earlier, a private company was also duped of Rs 1 crore using the same modus operandi," the officer said.