Indian regulator warns of 'boss scam', a cyber fraud targeting top executives

MUMBAI, July 17 : Indian markets regulator on Friday issued a warning against a cyber fraud involving impersonation of CEOs and other senior executives of companies to trick employees into transferring funds.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), while referring to this as 'boss scam', said the warning was being issued after it received information from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre of rising instances.

The regulator said fraudsters are targeting finance executives and other employees through email, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams and social media platforms while posing as CEOs or other senior executives.

The scammers then instruct victims to transfer funds to accounts controlled by them.

Another variation of the scam involves sending malware files to the employees. Once opened, the malware can hijack WhatsApp Web sessions or compromise devices.

"The fraudster gets access to the finance officer's WhatsApp account and then contacts accounts or finance employees, instructing them to make immediate payments to specified mule bank accounts," SEBI said.

The regulator has asked its regulated entities to direct officials to not transfer funds solely on the basis of instructions received on any social media platforms.