Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has reportedly fallen victim to cyber fraud, losing approximately $63,000 (₹55 lakh), as per reports. A police complaint was filed on March 13 by Ashoka Kumar Singh, the Additional General Manager of HAL Kanpur. Following the complaint, authorities have registered a case under the IT Act.

According to reports, HAL was in contact with a US based company, PS Engineering Incorporated, to procure aircraft parts. Initially, the communication was legitimate, but at some point, the official email address was reportedly replaced with a fraudulent one. The difference between the two email addresses was reportedly minor, with a missing letter ‘e’ making it difficult to detect, as per DCP.

As per reports, the issue dates back to May 2024 when HAL requested a price quotation for three fighter aircraft parts from the US company. The conversation initially took place through official channels but was reportedly intercepted midway by a fraudulent email ID.

Due to this oversight, HAL reportedly transferred the payment to an incorrect bank account. The fraud came to light only when the original vendor informed HAL that they had not received any payment, according to officials.

Investigators are still determining whether the cyber fraud was orchestrated by another US based entity or if an Indian group was involved.