'Fake CEO Scam': How Fraudsters Are Now Targetting Startup Employees For Money
From identity theft, phishing, cyberbullying, spamming, data hack to what not, there would hardly be any option left unexplored by scammers to trap people for money. But nowadays, another form of scam has come to light wherein fraudsters have begun targeting startup employees by faking themselves as the company¡¯s CEO.
From identity theft, phishing, cyberbullying, spamming, and data hacking to what not, there hardly seems any option that is left unexplored by scammers to trap people for money.
But nowadays, a new form of scam has come to light wherein fraudsters have begun targetting startup employees by posing as the company¡¯s CEO.
Meesho Employee Shares Fake CEO Incident
getty
In a recent case, Shikhar Saxena, an employee of Meesho, shared an incident where he received a message from a fraudster who pretended to be Vidit Aatrey, the CEO of Meesho. The scammer asked Shikhar to make some urgent payments.
In the screenshot shared, an unknown number with a profile pic of the Meesho founder texted Shikhar with his introduction. Later, he informed Shikhar about being on a conference call and requested he make payment for a client's gift. He even assured Shikhar of reimbursing the amount later.
¡°I am currently on a conference call with a client and I need to provide this client with some gift. Can you confirm if you can make this purchase from Paytm? I will reimburse you," texted the scammer to Shikhar Sharma.
Latest scam in the startup world - message from the CEO. pic.twitter.com/IIsZYYQsbx
¡ª Shikhar Saxena (@_shikharsaxena) April 6, 2023
¡®Latest scam in the startup world - message from the CEO,¡¯ tweeted Shikhar Sharma while sharing the screenshot of the conversation with the scammer.
Something which I can't post on Twitter.
¡ª Shikhar Saxena (@_shikharsaxena) April 7, 2023
Neither The First Nor The Only Such Case
Sharing a similar incident, Akash Gupta, CEO and Founder of Zypp Electric, replied to Shikhar's comment, "Yes, few people shared this for me too. What¡¯s this fraud now."
Yes, few people shared this for me too. What¡¯s this fraud now.
¡ª KaashSeAkash (Akash Gupta) (@akashthematrix) April 7, 2023
Kunal Bahl, who is an entrepreneur and investor took to Twitter last weekend after a person was approached via WhatsApp impersonating Bahl and asked for Amazon gift purchases for donation purposes and promised reimbursement later.
"It's a flattering yet a pretty dumb con in the scheme of cons, and I don't think anyone falls for this. In case you were planning to, please don't" Bahl tweeted/
It's a flattering yet a pretty dumb con in the scheme of cons, and I don't think anyone falls for this. In case you were planning to, please don't! ?
¡ª Kunal Bahl (@1kunalbahl) April 7, 2023
PS: Only minor impressive thing these con artists seem to have accomplished is getting their hands on my current WhatsApp DP. https://t.co/59zQS0C9xC
How Twitterati Reacted To Meesho Incident
ET
While some Twitter users shared memes and fun comments, some went on a serious note on similar incidents and also had some suggestions to prevent this.
¡°It¡¯s not just the startup world. Even employees at established companies have received these messages from scamsters," said another user on the post.
It¡¯s not just the startup world. Even employees at established companies have received these messages from scamsters
¡ª Rachit (@RachitJain_) April 7, 2023
¡ª Nav Rajput (@navrajputllc) April 7, 2023
A Twitter user suggested, "Verified tags for WhatsApp, may be should be the move forward, great revenue generation prospects comparing from the twitter."
Verified tags for WhatsApp, may be should be the move forward, great revenue generation prospects comparing from the twitter
¡ª shivam gupta (@shivamg46382805) April 7, 2023
When Meesho CEO needs PayTM for buying gifts ?????
¡ª Nirmal Sarkar | Blogger (@HelloNirmal) April 7, 2023
¡ª Mr. Lonely (@lucifer7445) April 7, 2023
A friend got a similar message from someone pretending to be his boss asking for PhonePe Apple Vouchers.
¡ª ? (@rkartha) April 7, 2023
This is very very common now!!
¡ª Dilnawaz Khan (@dilnawazakhan) April 7, 2023
I don't know why these scammers have a common script.
?Startup Idea?
A tool or Generative AI that helps scammers create better and personalized scripts that helps them with better conversion.
LOL - this is just a joke. ?
Also Read: Crypto Trader Hit By Scam Loses $650,000 In Just Two Seconds
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