NIZAMABAD: In yet another incident of top officials becoming victims of cybercrimes, some unidentified persons created a fake Facebook account on the name of Nizamabad Collector C Narayana Reddy and cheated a few gullible persons. The incident has left the district administration in a tough spot as it is the name of the Collector himself that the miscreants have used.
Meanwhile, the department authorities have already alerted their employees about the same and the cops have initiated a probe. According to sources, soon after the miscreants created the fake FB account on the name of the Collector, they sent out friend requests to several persons, including a few of Reddy’s acquaintances.
Soon after the account managed to get enough friends, the miscreants started sending personal messages to several people stating that one of Reddy’s relatives have been hospitalised and he requires some money for the expenses. It is learnt that around 500 persons received this message.
Though many persons didn’t respond to this message, a few gullible persons responded and even transferred some money to the miscreants. One person who first transferred Rs 8,000 to them through Phonepe, when he wished to transfer Rs 11,000 more, he asked the FB account owner for the latter’s bank account details.
When the person on the other end failed to send the bank account number, the victim started suspecting that he has been cheated and informed Collector C Narayana Reddy on Wednesday night. Soon after learning about this, the Collector informed the police. Nizamabad One Town police Station House Officer (SHO) A Anjaneyoulu has registered a case. The Collector also spoke with Nizamabad CP Karthikeya.
Meanwhile, Narayana Reddy has alerted all his FB friends and followers to not fall in this trap and urged all not to transfer money to anyone unknown. Speaking to The New Indian Express, Narayana Reddy said that his original FB account is safe. He also exuded confidence that the cops will be able to nab the miscreants soon.