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Fake boss, Rs 1.40 crore gone: 4 held in Bengaluru…

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activeCyber Crime / Digital ArrestKarnataka

Fake boss, Rs 1.40 crore gone: 4 held in Bengaluru university fraud

According to reports, the Karnataka Cyber Command arrested four persons in connection with a cyber fraud case in Bengaluru. Investigators stated that fraudsters impersonated the president of a deemed-to-be university by creating a fake WhatsApp profile using his photograph. The alleged mastermind targeted the institution's accountant and manipulated him into transferring funds from the university's bank account.

State

Karnataka

First reported

October 2026

Agency involved

Karnataka Cyber Command and South Division Cyber Police

Arrests

Four persons arrested

Status

Four suspects arrested, one suspect absconding, and investigation ongoing

The full story

Everything you need to know about this case, in one place.

Police reported that a staff member first received a malicious ZIP file, which allowed the fraudsters to access the system via the Chrome browser and log into WhatsApp Web. The culprits allegedly monitored the university's financial transactions for nearly three weeks before executing the transfer. In total, Rs 1.40 crore was allegedly siphoned off to accounts controlled by the perpetrators.

An employee of the university filed a formal complaint with the South Division Cyber Police. Following a technical investigation, authorities traced and arrested four individuals from different locations, while another suspect remained at large. Police also recovered a small portion of the money in cash and found that the network used numerous mule accounts linked to multiple fraud cases across several states.

Not yet reported: The reports do not specify the final recovery amount for the remaining bulk of the stolen funds or the specific court charges filed against the arrested individuals.

Where the case stands

The latest position in the reports we read.

Four individuals have been arrested by the Karnataka Cyber Command and a small amount of cash has been recovered, while another suspect remains absconding as the investigation continues.

Who was affected

Described in general terms; we do not name victims.

A deemed-to-be university in Bengaluru whose financial accounts were targeted, resulting in a loss of Rs 1.40 crore handled through its staff and accountant.

Timeline

Key dates as reported, oldest first.

September 8The fraudster contacted the university accountant via WhatsApp and instructed him to transfer funds after inquiring about the account balance.

September 9A university employee approached the South Division Cyber Police and filed a formal complaint regarding the fraud.

How the scam worked

The method described in the reports.

The fraudsters sent a malicious ZIP file to a staff member of the university.
Upon opening the file, the perpetrators allegedly gained unauthorized access to the system through the Chrome browser and linked WhatsApp Web.
The culprits secretly downloaded institutional data and monitored the university's financial transactions for 15 to 20 days.
Using gathered information, they created a fake WhatsApp profile using the photograph of the university president.
The accused posed as the president to direct the accountant to transfer funds, utilizing foreign IP addresses during the process.

Targeted by something similar?

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Sources and further reading

Optional. The full story is above; these are the original reports it was prepared from.

newindianexpress.comOriginal report The Indian ExpressOpens via Google News

Prepared by Report Scams, with the help of AI, from the published reports listed above. Check those reports for the latest. Cases here describe allegations. An FIR, arrest or charge is not a finding of guilt. To report a mistake, or to ask for a correction or removal, write to our Grievance Officer. See also the Safe Posting policy.