Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories has reportedly lost Rs 2.16 crore after hackers impersonated an executive from a supplier firm and diverted funds meant for payment.
According to an FIR filed with the Bengaluru City Cyber Crime Police on 5 November, the fraud was discovered after Group Pharmaceuticals Ltd., which was expecting the payment, did not receive the amount.
Mahesh Babu K of Group Pharmaceuticals stated in the complaint that hackers had intercepted email correspondence between the two companies and sent a fake message to Dr. Reddy’s finance team on 3 November. The fraudulent email, originating from an address resembling the official one—‘[KKeshav@Grouppharma.in](mailto:KKeshav@Grouppharma.in)’ instead of ‘[kkeshav@grouppharma.in](mailto:kkeshav@grouppharma.in)’—requested that the payment be transferred to a different Bank of Baroda account.
Believing the instructions to be legitimate, Dr. Reddy’s team reportedly transferred Rs 2.16 crore to the fraudulent account. The fraud came to light when Group Pharmaceuticals noticed the non-receipt of funds and alerted the authorities.
The FIR names the accused as being based in Vadodara, Gujarat. Police have registered the case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, which deal with identity theft and cheating by impersonation, along with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Investigators have initiated efforts to trace the money trail and freeze the fraudulent account. The case underscores rising instances of business email compromise (BEC) scams targeting corporate payments. |
