Kochi pharma firm allegedly duped 99L in WhatsApp CEO scam

Business Oct 22, 2026

A Kochi pharma company was allegedly duped of ₹99 lakh after a scammer pretended to be their CEO on WhatsApp.

The fraudster hacked a mobile phone used by the company's accounts department, used the CEO's photo, and convinced an employee to send the money.

The incident is now with the Kochi City Cyber police.

Employee duped into transferring funds

By posing as the CEO, the fraudster tricked a female accounts employee into transferring funds to another account.

This case really shows how easy it can be for scammers to exploit business chats if security isn't tight.

Police are investigating.