Fraudster Impersonates Trustee on WhatsApp, Dupes Hyderabad Hospital of Rs 50 Lakh

Cyber fraudsters duped a private charitable trust hospital in Hyderabad of Rs 50 lakh after impersonating one of its trustees on WhatsApp. The Hyderabad cybercrime police have registered a case and initiated an investigation following a complaint lodged by the hospital's general manager of finance.

According to the complaint, the finance manager received WhatsApp messages on August 28 from an unfamiliar mobile number displaying a photograph of the hospital's trustee as its profile picture. Believing the communication was genuine and coming directly from the trustee, the manager responded to the inquiries and shared financial details regarding the funds maintained in the hospital's various bank accounts.

The impersonator subsequently instructed the manager to transfer Rs 50 lakh to a designated bank account. Acting on these directives, the manager submitted an official letter to the hospital’s bank along with the cheque number to authorize and request the transfer. The bank processed the transaction, and the sum of Rs 50 lakh was moved out of the hospital’s account. The manager then messaged the WhatsApp contact to confirm that the funds had been transferred.

The scam began to unravel the following day when the impersonator contacted the finance manager again, this time issuing instructions to transfer an additional Rs 1 crore to a completely different bank account. The manager informed the sender that the cheque for the previous transaction was still awaiting the actual trustee’s physical signature. Despite this, the person on WhatsApp continued to aggressively insist on processing the fresh transfer immediately.

The persistent demands for more funds made the finance manager suspicious. To verify the requests, he reached out directly to the actual trustee. During their conversation, the hospital management realized that the WhatsApp account was operated by an impostor and that the institution had fallen victim to a cyber fraud.

Following the discovery, the manager approached the Hyderabad cybercrime police station and submitted a formal complaint. Officers registered a case and launched a probe to track down the fraudulent bank accounts and identify the individuals behind the operation.