Sebi Warns Companies Of ‘Boss Scam’
Fraudsters impersonate senior executives or hijack employees’ accounts to order transfers to mule bank accounts.
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India’s markets regulator has warned listed companies and regulated entities about a cyber fraud in which criminals impersonate senior executives to trick employees into transferring company funds.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued the advisory on Friday after the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, or I4C, reported a rise in cases involving the so-called boss scam.
Fraudsters contact finance executives and other employees through email, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams and social media while posing as chief executives or other senior officials. They then direct employees to transfer money to accounts under their control.
Another version involves malware sent to employees. Once opened, it can compromise devices or hijack WhatsApp Web sessions.
Attackers can then use a finance officer’s WhatsApp account to instruct other employees to make immediate payments to mule bank accounts, Sebi said.
The regulator advised companies not to transfer funds solely on the basis of instructions received through social media or messaging platforms.
It also urged them to verify payment requests through established internal channels and to avoid opening executable files or suspicious attachments without confirming the sender’s identity.
The regulator recommended logging out of unused WhatsApp Web sessions and reporting suspected cyber fraud through the national helpline 1930 or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
The I4C had issued a separate warning about the scam last month, saying criminals were also sending messages that appeared to come from authorities such as the Reserve Bank of India.
