Archive · 9 Aug 2026
Startup Founder Warns Of Phishing Scam Impersonating Him In Emails
Sankalp Shree runs a company called Spectent.
He discovered that someone was pretending to be him in emails sent to his workers.
The fake messages looked very real, almost like normal work conversations.
The pretend Shree asked a worker to buy five gift cards worth Rs 5,000 each.
That is Rs 25,000 in total, and the scammer promised to give the money back later.
The worker felt something was wrong and asked the real Shree if the request was real.
Because the worker checked first, nobody lost any money.
Shree shared the fake messages online to warn others about this trick.
He said cyber attacks are no longer just about hacking computers, they are about tricking people.
Sankalp Shree, Co-Founder and Director of Spectent, warned in a LinkedIn post about scammers impersonating him via email.
The fraudsters asked an employee to buy five gift vouchers worth Rs 5,000 each, totaling Rs 25,000.
The scammers promised full reimbursement after the purchase was made.
The targeted employee grew suspicious and verified the request directly with Shree, preventing any financial loss.
Shree shared redacted screenshots of the convincing exchange to raise awareness about cyber attacks that manipulate people.
- Who
- Sankalp Shree, Co-Founder and Director of Spectent, and fraudsters who impersonated him in emails to his employees.
- What
- A phishing scam in which fraudsters posed as Shree and asked an employee to buy gift vouchers worth Rs 25,000, promising reimbursement.
- When
- Not specified in the articles.
- Where
- Not explicitly stated; the exchange happened via email and was later shared on LinkedIn.
- Why
- The scammers aimed to trick employees into buying gift vouchers for financial gain by manipulating people rather than breaching technical defences.
- Scam type
- Phishing / gift voucher scam
- Target
- Employees of Spectent
- Impersonated person
- Sankalp Shree, Co-Founder and Director of Spectent
- Requested amount
- 5 gift vouchers of Rs 5,000 each (Rs 25,000 total)
- Promised reimbursement
- Yes, full reimbursement after purchase
- Financial loss
- None — employee verified the request directly with Shree
- Awareness platform
- LinkedIn post with redacted screenshots
- Key takeaway
- Cyber attacks now focus on manipulating people, not just hacking systems