How fake profiles of IAS, IPS officers are being used to swindle the unsuspecting
Since January this year, the cyber crime cell of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad police have together received two dozen complaints, in which people have been cheated for an amount ranging anything between Rs 50,000 and Rs 3 lakh by cyber frauds who used fake Facebook profiles of IAS and IPS officers.
Updated: December 27, 2023 06:57 IST
IMAGINE receiving a friend request on Facebook from a prominent IAS or IPS officer serving in your city, who is a familiar face and often features in the news. Now, picture receiving a direct message from this profile asking for your phone number, then seeking assistance for their friend and in turn making you feel unexpectedly important. In such a situation, an unsuspecting person might earnestly consider the request.
Since January this year, the cyber crime cell of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad police have together received two dozen complaints, in which people have been cheated for an amount ranging anything between Rs 50,000 and Rs 3 lakh by cyber frauds who used fake Facebook profiles of IAS and IPS officers.
The modus operandi is not very complicated, yet baffling. Victims receive a Facebook friend request from a fake profile of an IAS or IPS officer, which has photos of the officer, their information etc. After the victim accepts the request, he or she receives a direct message from the profile asking for their contact number.
Subsequently, a message is sent to the victim, in which he/she is told that the officer has a friend in the security forces, such as the CRPF, who is moving from one station to another and wants to sell his furniture at a discounted rate. The victim is then contacted from another phone number, where the caller identifies himself as a CRPF officer and sends photos of the furniture, along with the price.
Once the victim agrees, photos of the furniture being loaded into a truck by security personnel are sent to him/her to further gain trust. The victims are then told that the furniture is on the way and payment is sought online. When the furniture does not reach them and even the ‘officers’ go incommunicado, it is then that the victims realize that they have been duped.
In June this year, a 41-year-old journalist in Pune working for a TV news channel was cheated of Rs 70,000 by a cyber fraud, who used a fake profile of IAS officer and Pune collector Dr Rajesh Deshmukh. The journalist, who had interacted with Deshmukh in professional capacity, accepted the request from the fake account and even gave his number in reply to the direct message sent from the account.
He later received a call from a man posing as CRPF officer Sanosh Kumar. The caller not just offered to sell the furniture but also his Royal Enfield Bullet. The journalist liked the offer and paid Rs 70,000 for the deal, including the delivery. After waiting for days, he was told that it was kept on hold due to technical reasons. Suspecting a fraud, the journalist called Deshmukh only to learn that he had duped by a fraud who used a fake account.
Speaking to Express, Deshmukh said, “Such fake profiles are being created almost everyday and blanket friend requests are sent to people, many of whom even accept them. I have repeatedly made appeals asking people not to accept such requests and I have also informed the concerned cyber cell. Taking cognizance of these complaints, many profiles have been deleted but new ones keep cropping. It is very important for people to exercise caution on the social media space and not fall prey to these scams.”
Investigating this particular case, the Pune police’s cyber crime cell arrested a 23-year-old man from Alwar in Rajasthan, who played a key role in receiving and moving the money obtained through the fraud. A team is currently probing the case and investigation points to the role of a highly skilled gang of cyber criminals operating within India.
In August, a 42-year-old gardening works contractor in Chakan area of Pune was cheated using the same operandi. In this case, the frauds used a fake profile of senior IPS officer Krishna Prakash, who was Police Commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad between September 2020 and April 2022, and currently leads Maharashtra police’s specialised counter terrorism commando unit Force One. The profile had photos of Krishna Prakash in police uniform and also of his participation in the Ironman race, which the officer has successfully completed in the past.
Using the same modus operandi, a man posing as CRPF officer Sumit Kumar offered to sell his furniture, TV, home and kitchen appliances. The victim fell for the deal and ended up losing Rs 1.5 lakh.
Speaking to Express, Krishna Prakash said, “I have lost the count of fake profiles that have been created in my name. These cyber criminals take photos from our actual social media account or photos clicked in public events and then create fake profiles to cheat people… In addition to meticulous investigation, creating awareness among all age groups is the key. Not just about this specific type of fraud but also about general cyber security guidelines. It is time we introduce this subject in school education.”
Senior inspector Minal Supe Patil, in-charge of Pune’s cyber crime police station, told The Indian Express, “Cyber criminals create fake profiles by using photos and information from original profiles. Then, they send friend requests to people from friend lists of connected people. Imagine a fisherman unfurling a net or dangling a bait. Those who are hooked, are skillfully defrauded.”
“In the information security domain, there is a concept called social engineering where criminals manipulate victims into doing something by exploiting the social dynamics. Here, the criminals exploit the public image of the IAS and IPS officers, the trust that comes with their names and with the names of security forces like the CRPF or the Army. Victims of these frauds are from all age groups and professional backgrounds and most of them are well educated. It is important that social media users look at every such request or unidentified communication with doubt and cross-check them. If people end up making such transfers, they must approach the police immediately, preferably within 24 hours, so that we can take steps to freeze fraudulent accounts,” said Patil.
Elaborating on the investigation challenges, Patil said, “Cyber criminal gangs misuse identities of labourers, workers and farmers. The accounts are opened with phone numbers and identity documents of these people and are operated by cyber criminals in return for small payments to the account holders. We keep freezing these rented fraudulent accounts but they keep popping up. Intricate financial web and layers of criminals operating in these rackets make the probe challenging.”
First uploaded on: 27-12-2023 at 04:12 IST
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