A Vashi-based fintech firm has lost ₹1.98 crore in a huge cyber fraud after criminals took over its financial transaction system and made 57 unauthorised transfers in just 94 minutes.

These happened between 10:19 a.m. and 11:53 a.m. on October 2 at VK Venture Pvt Ltd in Vashi Railway Commercial Complex. Navi Mumbai Cyber Police have registered a case against unidentified persons under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

 Investigators are now tracking beneficiary accounts and trying to trace the digital trail to know how it was done to the system of the company. ₹1.98 Crore Money Transferred Into 57 Transactions.

The fraud began when employees were shocked when they found out that the company’s regular retailer settlements had stopped for company workers at around 11:30 am on October 2. Vinay Kedia, the chief executive of the company’s financial transaction system, was looking into the company’s financial transactions and found that there were transactions that had not been made or authorised by the company. 

Cybercriminals were able to access the company's electronic ledger of the company's current account with Yes Bank, the complaint said.

The cybercriminals transferred 57 fund transfers, taking the total amount to approximately ₹1 crore 98 lakh 29 thousand. Police are investigating the bank accounts that received the money and trying to find out who was behind it. VK Venture is a financial transaction platform for around 5 lakh registered retailers in India. Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS) and Biznext portal were introduced to serve the company’s customers.

 The transfers are purported to have been made without user’s consent, but OTP consent was given. A Navi Mumbai Cyber Police officer said the investigation is still at a very early stage. Evidence will be collected from beneficiary accounts and digital evidence to identify the accused and to determine how the company’s financial system was breached. Company Shuts Down Systems After Fraud.

The company shut down the server and financial transaction systems after the suspicious transactions were discovered, and the company had to stop any further unauthorised transfers. The company also contacted the cybercrime helpline 1930 and reported the incident through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal before approaching the Navi Mumbai Cyber Police with all the information.

A digital system, transaction records and bank accounts are now being examined, and the investigation is being carried out. Cyber Police Trace Digital Trail. The Navi Mumbai Cyber Police will be looking at all beneficiary bank accounts, account holders, routes of transactions and methods to get into the company’s system. It will also look to see if some of the attackers exploited a technical weakness or another method to hack the security mechanism. The accused are still unidentified and police are still investigating the ₹1.98 crore Navi Mumbai cyber fraud.