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For nearly 22 days, cyber fraudsters posed as a Thailand-based chemical supplier so convincingly that a Mumbai firm continued transferring payments without suspecting a scam. Using a fake email ID nearly identical to the original one, forged invoices, and fabricated bank details, the accused allegedly duped the firm of Rs 32 lakh in two transactions routed to a Dubai bank account, the cyber police said on Tuesday.

The businessman

The complainant works as an assistant manager (logistics) at the city-based company engaged in manufacturing and exporting guar gum powder — a thickening and stabilising agent widely used in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and oil drilling industries — to several countries. 

The company’s head office is in Sewri West. Police said the company had been purchasing raw material called ‘cationic reagent’ — an industrial chemical used in manufacturing and processing applications — from a Thailand-based supplier for nearly a year.

Fake email

>> The fraud allegedly began after the company placed an order for 24,000 kg of raw material on March 17.

>> Two days later, the firm got an email from an ID deceptively similar to the supplier’s genuine address. Attached to the mail were revised invoices, official-looking company letterheads, and new bank account details.

>> Believing the communication to be genuine, the complainant trusted the instructions and initiated payments through the company’s bank account.

Money sent to Dubai account

Police said the accused convinced the company to transfer the payment amount in two instalments of $16,680 each — approximately Rs 16 lakh per transaction. The first transfer was made on March 25, while the second payment was sent on April 16 to a Dubai-based bank account that the accused had allegedly falsely projected as the official account of the Thailand supplier company.

Fraud exposed

The scam surfaced on April 26, when the actual Thailand-based supplier contacted the company through its original email address and informed officials that no payment had been received for the consignment.

The complainant then shared copies of the earlier payment mails, following which the supplier clarified that it had never changed its bank account details and had not sent any email from the fraudulent mail ID.

Police said the company then realised that cyber fraudsters had impersonated the foreign supplier and diverted the payments using forged communication and fake banking credentials.

Police Speak

A police officer said, “Prima facie, it seems like the accused closely monitored an ongoing business transaction and exploited the similarity in email addresses to execute the fraud. We will be looking into the communication between both parties and transactions to find a breakthrough.”

How events unfolded

March 17: Company placed raw material order with its Thailand-based supplier
March 19: Fraudsters allegedly used a fake email ID and shared forged invoices with new bank details
March 25: Company transferred first Rs 16 lakh payment to the fake account
April 16: Second Rs 16 lakh instalment transferred
April 26: Real supplier informed the company that no payment had been received
May 6: Complainant approached Police
May 11: FIR registered