Fake bosses, real losses: Sebi warns of scammers posing as CEOs in rising boss scam
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday issued a warning against a growing cyber fraud in which scammers impersonate Chief Executive Officers
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday issued a warning against a growing cyber fraud in which scammers impersonate Chief Executive Officers (CEO) and other senior company executives to trick employees into transferring money. The stock market regulator said the advisory was issued after receiving information from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) about a rise in such incidents, commonly referred to as a "boss scam". Read Full Story According to Sebi, fraudsters are targeting finance executives and other employees through communication channels such as email, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams and social media platforms while posing as CEOs or other senior officials of organisations, news agency Reuters reported.
The scammers typically create a sense of urgency and instruct employees to transfer funds to bank accounts controlled by them. In many cases, the fraud is designed to appear as a legitimate request from top management, making it difficult for employees to identify the deception. Sebi also highlighted another variation of the scam in which fraudsters send malware-laden files to employees. Once opened, the malware can compromise devices or hijack WhatsApp Web sessions, enabling cybercriminals to gain access to internal communications.
"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 in its warning. The regulator advised all entities under its supervision to strengthen internal controls and verification procedures before processing financial transactions. It specifically directed regulated entities to ensure that officials do not transfer funds solely on the basis of instructions received through social media platforms or messaging applications.
The advisory comes amid growing concerns over cyber-enabled financial frauds in India, with authorities increasingly warning businesses to verify payment requests through established channels before acting on them. Ends
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