Spoofed email costs chemical firm Rs 51.8L

Vadodara: A city-based chemical manufacturing company was allegedly duped of Rs 51.80 lakh in a sophisticated cyber fraud involving spoofed emails and altered bank account details.

An official of Deepak Nitrite Ltd lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime police station on Monday, alleging that cybercriminals diverted a payment meant for a German company into a bank account in Portugal.

According to the complaint, Deepak Nitrite had entered into an agreement with a German firm in 2024 for a product feasibility study. In Oct 2025, the company transferred Rs 51.80 lakh to a bank account in Portugal, believing it to be the German firm’s designated account for bill payment.

However, in Feb 2026, the German company emailed Deepak Nitrite seeking payment of the outstanding bill. Surprised by the communication, company officials shared proof of the earlier transaction with the German firm.

A subsequent internal inquiry revealed that the bank account details had allegedly been communicated through a spoofed or masked email address, leading the company to transfer the funds to fraudsters instead of the intended beneficiary.

Following the discovery, the company contacted the beneficiary bank and requested that the transaction be frozen. However, according to the complaint, no response has been received from the bank so far.

Police have registered a case and initiated an investigation into the cyber fraud.