Dr Reddy’s Labs loses Rs 2.16 crore in cyber fraud

In a major case of corporate cyber fraud, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. has reportedly lost Rs 2.16 crore after hackers impersonated a company executive and diverted funds meant for another firm, according to an FIR filed with the Bengaluru City Cyber Crime Police on November 5.

The complaint, filed by Mahesh Babu K from Group Pharmaceuticals Ltd., said the company was expecting a payment of Rs 2.16 crore from Dr. Reddy’s for goods supplied. However, hackers allegedly intercepted email communications between the two companies and sent a fake message to Dr. Reddy’s finance team on November 3.

The fraudulent email, sent from an address mimicking the official one—‘[email protected]’ instead of ‘[email protected]’—instructed the team to transfer the amount to a different Bank of Baroda account. Believing it to be genuine, the payment was made to the fraudulent account. Group Pharmaceuticals later discovered the fraud and approached the police, requesting that the fake account be frozen and the funds recovered. The FIR lists the accused as being based in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Police have registered the case under Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology Act for identity theft and cheating by impersonation, along with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.