HYDERABAD: Several incidents of misusing the names and images of well-known figures, consisting both political leaders and senior law enforcement officials, to set up counterfeit accounts on popular social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) have come to light.
Something similar happened when unidentified culprits appropriated Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari’s photo to fabricate a fake WhatsApp account, and initiated contact with people.
A police officer told TNIE, “Unidentified persons created a WhatsApp account with the Display Picture (DP) of the Chief Secretary. The accused messaged four people from the WhatsApp number saying that he cannot connect over calls and asked them to send Ramzan gift card coupons to him.” However, a case is registered with the Bureau and is being investigated. The cops have requested WhatsApp to furnish details of the accused and also blocked the number, said the officer.
Adding to the series of disturbing incidents, the official X account of former Governor of Telangana, Tamilisai Soundarajan, was hacked a couple of months back. Despite cybercrime sleuths being able to trace the accused in Maharashtra, efforts to pinpoint their exact IP addresses were thwarted.
These identity exploiters pretend to be renowned people like politicians or police officers. This tricks people into thinking they are real and honest, which makes it easier for the exploiters to get money or favours from them. This can in turn make it easier to deceive victims into disclosing private information or ensnaring them in financial scams. “The use of political and police figures’ identities is a calculated tactic by these criminals. They exploit the respect and trust associated with these positions to manipulate victims into compliance,” explained a senior police officer.