Pune-based university loses ₹2.46 crore in cyber fraud

A private university in Pune has been duped of ₹2.46 crore in a cyber fraud case, where scammers posed as senior academics and government-linked researchers to promise access to major research projects.

The fraud unfolded between July 25 and Aug 7, when the university’s management was lured into transferring money on the pretext of securing eligibility for grants linked to the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

According to police, the trap was set after the university’s chief education officer (CEO) received a message allegedly in the name of a former Savitribai Phule Pune University vice-chancellor.

This message introduced a man claiming to be an IIT Mumbai professor, who spoke of projects valued at ₹28 crore.

On July 25, the impersonator convinced officials to transfer ₹56 lakh, about 2% of the alleged project cost, within three hours.

A few days later, another ₹46 lakh was paid for what was described as an “AI technology project.”

On Aug 7, the fraudster claimed to be leading a ₹72 crore machine learning initiative and secured another ₹1.44 crore.

The conman assured the university he would travel to Pune on Aug 28 to sign a memorandum of understanding.

When this did not happen, the CEO contacted the actual IIT professor, who denied any role in the dealings. The matter was then reported to the Cyber Police, leading to the registration of an FIR.

A university public relations officer said the impersonator appeared “highly convincing with technical know-how,” which made it difficult for officials to suspect fraud.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber) confirmed the transactions and said investigations are in progress to trace the culprits.