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A Nigerian national, Patrick Ngomere, was arrested by the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police for allegedly hacking into the email account of a pharmaceutical company, Family Care Pvt. Limited, and fraudulently stealing Rs 11.73 lakh (approximately $13,361). The suspect, who was also residing in India without a valid visa, is believed to be part of a larger network of cyber criminals operating across the country.
According to reports from the Indian online news platform Millennium Post, Ngomere confessed to the crime during police interrogation. The fraudulent activity began on December 10 when Family Care Pvt. Limited received an email that appeared to be from its trusted vendor, Accent Pharma. The email asked the company to transfer a payment to a new bank account, which the company unknowingly did. The amount transferred was Rs 11.76 lakh (approximately $13,370), which was later confirmed to be the stolen sum.
The company only discovered the fraud after making the payment and performing further checks, which led them to realize their email account had been compromised. A cyber fraud investigation was promptly launched, and the police traced the hacked email back to Nigeria. The stolen money was tracked to a bank account in Manipur, India, and Ngomere was eventually caught in a police trap near an ATM.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Ngomere had been living in India without proper documentation, and he is suspected of being involved in a larger syndicate of cyber criminals operating in the country. Authorities are continuing their investigation to uncover more details about the group’s activities.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Foreigners Act, and the investigation is ongoing. Police surveillance footage played a crucial role in tracking down the suspect.
This incident highlights the growing concern over cyber crimes in India, with companies being increasingly targeted by scammers using fake emails and other tactics to steal large sums of money. The authorities are urging businesses to be more vigilant about cybersecurity to prevent such incidents.
Earlier in January 2025, similar reports emerged from Kuwait, where two Nigerian nationals were arrested for armed robbery after they stole 4,600 Kuwaiti Dinars (around $14,918) from an exchange office in Mahboula, a district in southern Kuwait City.
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