Major Cyber Heist: Dubai Masterminds and Hong Kong Hackers Steal Rs 48 Crore from Bengaluru Finance Firm

Bengaluru Cyber Crime Police have achieved a significant breakthrough by apprehending two individuals involved in a sophisticated hacking operation against Whizdm Finance Pvt Ltd. The suspects allegedly accessed the company's bank accounts illegally and transferred approximately Rs 48 crore using foreign IP addresses.

The investigation began after Whizdm Finance's senior manager submitted a formal complaint on August 7, reporting suspicious unauthorized fund transfers that occurred between August 6 and 7 across multiple accounts. The company's internal investigation determined that these transactions were conducted through foreign servers rather than official systems or whitelisted IPs, indicating a comprehensive data security breach.

According to the Cyber Crime Police investigation, hackers executed 1,782 separate transactions from Whizdm Finance's accounts, distributing funds to 656 different bank accounts totaling around Rs 47 crore. One suspect received Rs 27.39 lakh in his State Bank of India account, while another facilitated the transfer of Rs 5.5 crore to Echelon Science Tech Pvt Ltd in Hyderabad, which was subsequently channeled to Flipo Pay.

The investigation further revealed that two masterminds based in Dubai allegedly recruited hackers from Hong Kong to modify the bank's API systems and circumvent security measures. The fraudulent transactions were conducted using IP addresses traced to Hong Kong and Lithuania, connected to five servers rented abroad.

Law enforcement has arrested two suspects in India, identified as Sanjay Patel and Ismail Rasheed Attar. Authorities are now working to trace the foreign operatives involved and track the digital money trail, with ongoing efforts to recover the misappropriated funds.