March 19, 2025: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a leading defence and aerospace equipment manufacturer, has fallen victim to a cyber fraud. Scammers posing as PS Engineering Inc, a US based firm, tricked HAL into Rs 55 Lakh for aircraft parts.

The scam unfolded when HAL’s Kanpur branch received an email from the scammers, who cleverly manipulated the email ID of the genuine US based dealer.

The scammers took advantage of HAL’s existing relationship with PS Engineering Inc., which began in May 2024 when HAL contacted the company to purchase aircraft parts. The fraudsters likely monitored the conversation and later sent a fake email demanding approximately Rs 55 lakh. HAL believing the email to be genuine, transferred the amount to the scammers’ account.

The scam was discovered when PS Engineering Inc., informed HAL that they hadn’t received any payment. Upon investigation, HAL realized that the email ID was fraudulent. Ashok Kumar Singh, additional general manager at HAL Kanpur, filed a complaint with the cyber police on March 13.

DCP Crime, Anjali Viswakarma noted that the minor difference in the email ID was the key to the scam, stating, somewhere in the middle, the proper email ID was replaced with a fake one.