Son of Former PM Becomes Victim of WhatsApp Cyber Fraud
According to reports, a senior official in Naresh Gujral’s company received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number. The profile picture (DP) on the number was of Naresh Gujral. The message asked the official to immediately transfer a large amount to a specific bank account.
The official, believing it was a genuine instruction from his boss, transferred around Rs 1.5 crore via RTGS. Over the next four days, the fraudsters kept demanding more money and the official continued to transfer funds. In total, Rs 7.8 crore was transferred to the fraudster’s account.
The bank noticed the unusually large transactions and contacted the company’s CFO, who also assumed the instructions came from Naresh Gujral. The fraud came to light on June 16 when the official grew suspicious and contacted Naresh Gujral’s daughter Diksha. She confirmed that her father had not sent any such messages.
An e-FIR was registered on June 16 and the Delhi Police’s IFSO team has begun investigating the case. A significant portion of the money (around Rs 4 crore) has been traced and frozen in the account.
This case highlights how sophisticated cyber criminals have become. They use fake profiles with the victim’s photo to build trust and execute large-scale financial frauds. The police are now trying to trace the flow of money and identify the people behind the scam.
