HYDERABAD: Cyber fraudsters who are on a spree of creating fake Whatsapp profiles of Telangana bureaucrats, have now targeted Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MA&UD) Special Chief Secretary & Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) Commissioner Arvind Kumar. They have created his fake profile and started reaching out to employees in the department, asking for money.
A case has been registered at Jubilee Hills police station on a complaint from an HMDA employee who received a message from the imposter. S Rajashekar Reddy, Inspector, Jubilee Hills said a case has been registered under sections 419 of IPC and 66 (C) (D) of the IT act, and an investigation has begun to trace the imposter.
Meanwhile, Arvind Kumar reported the issue to the police on Twitter. "Someone is sending messages from 9313411812 asking for money from my staff / others !! Upon being informed, I have filed immediately a police complaint. It's not me and please ignore any message if recd," he wrote on Twitter. Inquiries revealed that the number used by the imposter is in the name of Mahendra Prajapati and the same user also has alternate numbers and all numbers are in Gujarat Circle.
S Venkatesh, Inspector of police, deputed to the Enforcement Wing of HMDA in the complaint at Jubilee Hills police station stated that on Tuesday afternoon, HMDA employees received WhatsApp messages from an account impersonating the name of Arvind Kumar with the latter’s image as the WhatsApp DP. The imposter demanded money from the employees.
After verifying the number, Venkatesh first reported to the HMDA camp office and then lodged a complaint at Jubilee Hills Police station, following which police started a probe.
It may be recalled that in the recent past, fake WhatsApp profiles of Collectors of Adilabad, Nirmal, Komaram Bheem Asifabad, Narayanpet, and Mahabubnagar districts were created by imposters and messages were sent to district officials demanding money.