A shocking case of cyber fraud has come to light in Bengaluru, where leading pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy’s c lost over Rs 2.16 crore to online fraudsters. The cybercriminals managed to infiltrate an official email thread and cleverly rerouted a payment meant for another company into a fake bank account.
According to the Bengaluru Cyber Crime Police, the fraud took place after hackers broke into the email communication between Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Group Pharmaceuticals. The two companies were in the middle of a regular business transaction, with Dr Reddy’s due to make a payment for goods already supplied by Group Pharmaceuticals.
The incident came to light when the expected payment failed to reach its destination. Officials from Group Pharmaceuticals, including senior executive Mahesh Babu K, soon realized that something was wrong and approached the Cyber Crime Police Station in Bengaluru to file a formal complaint.
The fraud amount, Rs 2.16 crore, was supposed to be transferred by Dr Reddy’s to Group Pharmaceuticals. However, hackers pretending to be representatives of Group Pharmaceuticals tricked Dr Reddy’s into sending the payment to a fraudulent bank account.
How the Cyber Scam Unfolded
Investigators revealed that the email breach occurred on November 3. The hackers gained unauthorized access to the official communication thread between the two companies. Once inside, they closely monitored the ongoing conversation and waited for the right moment to strike.
Disguising themselves as officials from Group Pharmaceuticals, the fraudsters sent an email to the finance and accounts team at Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. The email appeared genuine as it was part of the same thread that had been used earlier for legitimate discussions. In that email, the hackers provided new bank account details and requested that the payment be made to that account instead of the regular one.
Unaware of the deception, the finance team at Dr Reddy’s processed the payment on November 4, transferring the entire Rs 2.16 crore to the account provided in the fraudulent email. The hackers had successfully rerouted the funds before anyone noticed something unusual.
It was only after Group Pharmaceuticals checked their accounts and realized that the payment had not arrived that the fraud came to light. Alarmed by the discovery, Mahesh Babu K, the senior executive from Group Pharmaceuticals, quickly approached the Cyber Crime Police Station, seeking urgent help to trace and freeze the stolen money.
Police Investigation Begins
The Bengaluru Police swiftly began an investigation after receiving the complaint. A case was registered on November 5 under the Information Technology Act and sections 318(4) and 319(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for cheating and impersonation.
During the initial probe, the police traced the fraudulent bank account used in the scam to Vadodara in Gujarat. However, by the time investigators reached the account, most of the money had already been split and moved into multiple smaller accounts. This tactic is often used by cybercriminals to make it harder for authorities to recover the full amount.
Despite the challenge, the primary fraudulent account has now been frozen, and officers are working closely with several banks across the country to track and recover the diverted funds. Police sources said that multiple financial institutions are cooperating to trace the money trail and identify the individuals behind the cyberattack.
Ongoing Investigation and Threat of Cybercrime
The ongoing investigation aims to uncover how the hackers gained access to the confidential email exchange between the two companies. Authorities suspect that a phishing attack or compromised email credentials may have allowed the criminals to infiltrate the conversation.
The case has drawn attention to the rising threat of business email compromise (BEC) scams in India, where hackers monitor company communications and intercept transactions by impersonating trusted contacts. This type of cybercrime has become increasingly common, especially in high-value corporate dealings.
Both companies involved, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Group Pharmaceuticals, are said to be cooperating fully with the investigation and assisting authorities in tracing the digital footprints of the fraudsters.
For now, the Bengaluru Cyber Crime Police continue their search for the culprits behind this sophisticated cyber fraud, as efforts are underway to recover the lost funds and bring those responsible to justice.
