Hyderabad: Cybercriminals are now using fake profiles of IAS and IPS officers to impersonate people. Recently, scammers created a fake WhatsApp profile of IAS officer Musharraf Farooqui. The scammer allegedly sent a message to a person with a fake number and identified himself as TSSPDCL CMD Musharraf Farooqui.
speaking with Deccan ChronicleMusharraf Farooqui said, “This has happened many times, they usually message my subordinates, asking for money. I think this is the fourth or fifth time. The amount lost by my subordinates is as small as Rs 10,000. As soon as we came to know about it, , I inform my PR team about putting the message out to make sure no one falls for it.
Speaking about the police complaint, Farooqui said that a complaint has been filed with the police about this fraud and that a complaint will be filed in this case as well.
Apart from fake numbers of authorities, cyber criminals are also hacking WhatsApp accounts of celebrities. Recently Baahubali filmmaker Shobu Yarlagadda posted on X about his WhatsApp account being hacked.
“My @WhatsApp account has been hacked. The hacker is in control of my account. What’s more scary is that @WhatsApp won’t let me log in for 12 hours because I entered the wrong pin (sic) many times,” he said on X posted.
He added, “Meanwhile, the hacker is tricking many of my contacts and gaining access to their contacts and more and more accounts are being compromised. No way to reach @WhatsApp. This is crazy! Please do something about this @Meta @WhatsApp.
Cyber Crime Police advises people not to share their OTPs or open any suspicious links or APK files as it may compromise their WhatsApp. In cases where fraudsters ask for money via text message, police advise people to always cross-check with the person in question by making a phone call before transferring money.