What is ‘Boss Scam’?
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently cautioned regulated entities and listed firms against a ‘Boss Scam’, wherein fraudsters impersonate chief executives or senior officials to trick finance teams into transferring funds.
- Boss Scam is an emerging cyber fraud where fraudsters impersonate Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), Managing Directors (MDs) and other senior officials to trick finance executives into transferring funds.
- Cyber criminals are using two major methods to carry out the fraud.
- Under the first method, fraudsters use deepfake technology, including AI-generated voice cloning, fake video calls and false social media groups to impersonate top executives.
- Finance officials are then instructed to transfer money to a specified bank account.
- In some cases, they are also told not to disclose the transaction by claiming that it relates to Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI).
- Another method involves sending compressed ZIP files containing malicious executable programs.
- Once opened, these files can compromise systems and hijack the active WhatsApp Web sessions.
- 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 bank accounts
- In some instances, attackers modify contact lists by saving their own numbers under the names of CEOs or MDs, making fraudulent messages appear genuine.
