The Cyber Crime Police of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in Bengaluru have successfully cracked a major email spoofing fraud case and recovered ₹2.16 crore that was fraudulently siphoned off from a legitimate business transaction, officials said. The scam was uncovered after representatives of Group Pharmaceuticals reported that a payment of ₹2.16 crore due from Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (Hyderabad) for goods supplied had been diverted to a fraudulent bank account in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, via a fake email ID created to look nearly identical to the company’s official address.
Police said the cybercriminals used email spoofing — sending messages with a forged sender address so it appeared genuine — to trick the finance team at Dr Reddy’s into transferring the funds to the fake account. The investigation revealed that the spoofed communication originated from overseas, with links traced to an IP address in Nigeria.
Soon after the complaint was filed in early December, the CCB issued notices to Bank of Baroda, where the mule account was held, leading to the account being frozen. On 5 January 2026, a court ordered the release of the frozen funds, which were then fully returned to Dr Reddy’s Laboratories. While police have confirmed the recovery, efforts are ongoing to trace and apprehend the suspects behind the international fraud network. Email spoofing frauds like this exploit carefully forged addresses and business correspondence to mislead organisations, underlining the importance of verification protocols and cyber vigilance.
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/bengaluru-cyber-crime-police-recover-216-crore-in-major-email-spoofing-fraud-case/article70528918.ece