"Emails Didn't Look Fake": Startup Founder Reveals How Scammers Tricked His Employees In Gift Card Scam

Sankalp Shree, Co-Founder and Director of Spectent, recently shared a warning about a sophisticated phishing scam targeting his employees. In a LinkedIn post, he claimed that fraudsters impersonated him via email, attempting to trick team members into purchasing gift vouchers on his behalf.

He said that the scammers began with a casual email, and once they established communication, they requested the employee to buy five gift vouchers worth Rs 5,000 each, totalling Rs 25,000. They promised full reimbursement later.

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"Looks like I've been secretly emailing my employees... asking them for money. Except, I wasn't," he wrote.

"It started with a casual conversation. Nothing unusual. 'Are you in the office?'"

"That's how someone pretending to be me started a conversation with one of my employees... before asking them to buy 5 gift vouchers worth Rs. 5,000 each (Rs. 25,000 in total)."

"A few messages later, 'I' was asking them to make a purchase and promising reimbursement afterwards."

See the post here:

He further stated that the scam was unlike typical phishing attempts; these messages appeared genuine and looked like real workplace interactions. Fortunately, the employee grew suspicious and verified the request directly with Shree before making any transactions, preventing financial loss.

"As a founder, I'd heard of phishing emails, but I never imagined someone would impersonate me to target my own team," he wrote.

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In the post, which continues to gain traction, following the incident, Shree shared redacted screenshots of the exchange online to raise awareness about such scams.

He emphasised that today's cyber threats often focus on manipulating people rather than breaching technical defences.

"This was a reminder that cyber attacks are no longer just about hacking systems, they're about manipulating people," he added. "Sharing a few redacted screenshots because I genuinely couldn't believe how convincing they looked."