Man arrested in Visakhapatnam for cheating private school founder of ₹38 lakh
Police in Visakhapatnam have arrested a man for his role in a digital fraud scheme that cheated a Chennai school founder of ₹38 lakh. The suspect allegedly maintained a 'mule' bank account used to launder money obtained through WhatsApp impersonation.
Why it matters
This incident highlights the growing prevalence of sophisticated digital impersonation scams and the use of mule accounts in financial fraud.
The Cyber Crime Police arrested a man in Visakhapatnam for allegedly cheating the founder of a private school in George Town, Chennai, of ₹38 lakh through impersonation.
According to the police, unidentified persons used the school founder’s photograph as their WhatsApp display picture and impersonated him. They sent a message to the school’s accounts manager from a mobile number, posing as the founder, and instructed him to transfer ₹38 lakh to a bank account.
Believing the message to be genuine, the accounts manager transferred ₹38 lakh online from the school founder’s bank account to a bank account in Visakhapatnam.
After realising he had been cheated, a complaint was lodged with the police. The investigation revealed the money was credited to a newly opened current account in Visakhapatnam in the name of Sri Sai Ganapathi Logistics and was immediately transferred to other bank accounts.
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