HYDERABAD: In a joint operation, the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau and Nizamabad III Town Police detained a 17-year-old JCB operator from Rajasthan for impersonation fraud, in which a victim lost Rs 50,000.
Police said over 200 fake profiles of senior IAS, IPS, IRS officers and other prominent personalities were found on the boy’s mobile phone. Six cases are pending against him in Telangana, and around 100 across the country.
The case began with a complaint from a 62-year-old retired teacher from Kanteshwar, Nizamabad. On July 15, he came across a Facebook profile under the name Dr Sunil Kumar, DIG and, assuming it was genuine, began chatting with the account. The impersonator later introduced another fake profile claiming to be a CRPF officer selling furniture after a transfer.
The victim transferred Rs 50,000 to buy it, but neither received the items nor a refund. Realising he had been cheated, he approached the police.
Investigators traced the accused to Jalore district in Rajasthan and apprehended him. Police said he had dropped out of school, learnt to operate JCBs, and was drawn into cybercrime after seeing peers in his village make quick money online.
He created fake social media profiles using photos of senior officers, sending friend requests to contacts from genuine accounts. He used Google Translate to communicate fluently with victims and allegedly duped hundreds of people across India using the same modus operandi.