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.
About Boss Scam:
It 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In some cases, they are also told not to disclose the transaction by claiming that it relates to Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI).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.
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