The FIR states that the fraudsters had gained access to the accountant’s mobile phone and blocked the MD’s original, saved contact number. (File photo)

In an invasive form of ‘whale-phishing’, cyber fraudsters hacked into a sports equipment company accountant’s phone, blocked the Managing Director’s (MD) original contact number and impersonated him on WhatsApp to siphon off Rs 50 lakh. Interestingly, the fraudsters made another attempt hours later seeking another Rs 49 lakh — only to be thwarted because the MD was in the office this time.

The case, registered with the Pimpri Chinchwad cyber police, highlights how fraudsters can exploit access to a victim’s phone and manipulate saved contact details to make impersonation more convincing and also use established workplace routines to authorise fraudulent financial transactions, officials from the cyber crime police station said.

According to the FIR, the complainant, an accountant and manager who has been working with the company for five years, handles its…