4 min readPuneJul 19, 2026 06:20 PM IST When the chief financial officer (CFO) of an Italian engineering company in Pune received a message from its chief executive officer (CEO) on Microsoft Teams, her immediate response was to do as asked—transfer Rs 56 lakh to two accounts. But when the second direction came the next morning—to urgently transfer Rs 1.5 crore—things did not feel right for her. A timely check then limited the financial loss to Rs 56 lakh. The Italy-headquartered firm was targeted in a whale phishing attack—or what the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) calls the “boss scam”. The Pimpri-Chinchwad police have launched an investigation. As per the FIR registered at the cybercrime police station, the 49-year-old CFO was working from home on the morning of July 13 when she received a message from a profile carrying the name and photo of the firm’s Italian CEO. The message said the CEO was busy with a government project and that Rs 56 lakh needed to be transferred to two accounts. She grew …