Cybercriminals have field day in Prakasam, makes fake Facebook accounts of SIs to extort money

The IT wing of the Prakasam police identifying the FB posts on the SIs’ accounts, alerted the officials, who immediately got in touch with their contacts.
For representational purposes (Express Illustrations)
For representational purposes (Express Illustrations)

ONGOLE: If advancement in technology has come as a blessing in disguise, it certainly also has its disadvantages. A few weeks ago, cybercriminals created fake Facebook accounts in the names of some of the SIs of Prakasam district and started chatting with their contacts. They attempted to take money from them by saying they were in a precarious financial condition. 

The IT wing of the Prakasam police identifying the FB posts on the SIs’ accounts, alerted the officials, who immediately got in touch with their contacts.Not stopping with this, the cybercriminals created a fake FB page of Prakasam Superintendent of Police Siddharth Kaushal. While chatting with his contacts, they sought some money.  

Immediately, the Prakasam police IT wing alerted the SP and he responded through his original FB page and other platforms cautioning his contacts not to believe such posts since it was the handiwork of cybercriminals.  

In a similar incident, an old contact of Podili CI V Sree Ram believing the request made on fake FB page to be genuine, transferred `15,000 to the given account number. Later, Sree Ram came to know about the incident. Immediately, he warned all his contacts not to fall victim to such fraudulent requests and before transferring funds, confirm the same with him. 

“A few B Tech students are creating fake FB accounts in the names of celebrities and officials and are getting in touch with their contacts. Some persons from a place called Jamtara in Jharkhand commit such frauds. There is also a TV show named after Jamtara, which reveals how these youths were cheating the public using technology,” the CI said.

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The New Indian Express
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