Fake Whatsapp profile with PWD secretary's profile picture dupes chief engineer of Rs 1 lakh

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A fake WhatsApp account with the profile picture of PWD Secretary was enough to extort Rs 1 lakh from the Chief Engineer in the capital city. Chief Engineer Ashok Kumar never raised any doubt seeing the picture of Department Secretary K Biju on WhatsApp, but there were more shades to the fraud of which the engineer was unaware of.

The message through WhatsApp demanded to buy an App Store code, that is an Apple gift card worth Rs 1 lakh. Through this code, it is able to make purchases worth Rs 1 lakh from the Apple Store. After receiving the message, the chief engineer purchased the card and sent it through WhatsApp as he felt no reason to do so. The fraud came to light when Ashok Kumar, who became suspicious in the subsequent conversation, approached the secretary. The cybercrime police registered a case on the engineer's complaint and started an investigation.

Last day, a fraud was attempted through a similar fake WhatsApp account in the name of District Collector Geromic George. After noticing this, Geromic George lodged a complaint with the police. It is noteworthy that in both incidents, the activities of the fraud gangs were centred on those in the offices of the IAS officials.