Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a prominent manufacturer of defence and aerospace equipment, fell victim to an alleged cyber fraud when scammers, impersonating a US-based company, deceived it into making a payment of ₹55 lakh.
The fraud was uncovered when HAL realised that the payment had been sent to the wrong account, as reported by Mint.
According to the report, HAL’s Kanpur branch received an email from cybercriminals posing as the legitimate US company, PS Engineering Inc. The scammers subtly altered the email ID by removing one of the two “e” letters in “engineering,” which went unnoticed by officials.
The original email ID was gledbetter@ps-engineering.com, while the fraudulent one used by the scammers was jlane@ps-enginering.com. This fake email also contained counterfeit bank details, leading to the payment being sent to the fraudsters’ account instead of the actual company’s.
Background of Transaction
In May 2024, HAL reached out to PS Engineering Inc. to purchase aircraft parts. The scammers, likely monitoring the communication, later sent a fake email requesting $63,405 (approximately ₹55 lakh). Believing it was a legitimate request, HAL transferred the money.
The scam was revealed when PS Engineering contacted HAL to inform them they had not received any payment. Upon investigation, HAL discovered the fraudulent email ID.
Investigation Underway.
Ashok Kumar Singh, the additional general manager at HAL Kanpur, filed a complaint with the Cyber Police on March 13. Authorities are now looking into whether the fraud was orchestrated by another US-based company or an Indian entity.
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