KOCHI: In a world that is increasingly relying on the virtual space, it is no surprise that criminals are always on the lookout for new means of committing fraud using social media platforms. A recent investigation by Kerala Police revealed that a Rajasthan-based racket was into creation of fake social media accounts of police officials from the state to dupe people and extort money. It was found that the racket had created social media profiles of officers right from the junior ranks to the senior level.
A detailed probe launched to track the fake Facebook accounts of Inspector General P Vijayan and Aluva anti-narcotics wing DySP M R Madhu Babu blew the lid off this major conspiracy. Police officers said a team had been to Alwar in Rajasthan and Mewat in Haryana to track the accused and a person was nabbed in connection with the fake Facebook profile of the IG.
“I received a call from a friend who asked whether I have two Facebook profiles. He had received a friend request from an account which looks similar to my already existing one. I found that the account was created using pictures and details from my original account,” said DySP Madhu Babu.
On creating the fake account, the DySP said the imposters got in touch with his friends through Facebook Messenger in an attempt to establish a network. “They identify vulnerable people and present a story convincing them to part with money. The fraudsters request moderate sum upto Rs 5,000. Many fall for the trick and transfer the money,” he said.
Currently, the case is being probed by officials of Hi-Tech Crime Cell. It is suspected that the imposters have extorted lakhs of rupees from multiple persons. A senior official of the Hi-Tech Cell said while one was nabbed in connection with creation of fake social media profiles of police officials, they were also able to catch two other persons in connection with another online fraud involving the sale of explicit content. “We found that Alwar is notorious for online frauds. The region shares border with Haryana and the criminals are having a free run making it hard for police to track them,” the officer said.