NAVI MUMBAI: A jewellery company in Navi Mumbai was allegedly duped of ₹10.70 crore after fraudsters created a WhatsApp profile using the owner’s name and photograph and convinced an accounts executive of the firm to transfer the money to multiple bank accounts over two days.Navi Mumbai jewellery firm duped of ₹10.7 crore by WhatsApp scamAccording to police, the accounts executive at the firm’s Mahape office received a WhatsApp message on July 14 from a number that appeared to belong to the owner. After asking him to share the balance in the company’s current account, the sender instructed him to transfer funds to three bank accounts.Since the owner routinely communicated payment instructions over calls and WhatsApp, the executive believed the messages were genuine and transferred ₹7.70 crore in four transactions.The next day, he received fresh instructions to transfer money to two more bank accounts and transferred another ₹3 crore, taking the total amount to ₹10.70 crore.The fraud surfaced later on July 15 during a WhatsApp group voice call involving the owner and the company’s finance officer. The owner told the executive he had never issued any payment instructions or authorised the transfers.Police said the fraudulent WhatsApp account displayed the owner’s name and used his photograph as the profile picture, but the mobile number was different.The Navi Mumbai Cyber Police have registered an FIR against the unidentified user of the WhatsApp number used in the fraud and the holders of the beneficiary bank accounts. Investigators are now tracing the accused and following the money trail.