Now, cyber fraudsters target top Navy officer

The latest target is Southern Naval Command Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral J Singh, and the Kochi cyber police station has launched a probe into the matter.

KOCHI:  After targeting prominent people in the state government and the police, cyber fraudsters recently impersonated a top-ranked naval officer’s WhatsApp account and sent messages to his subordinates. The latest target is Southern Naval Command Chief of Staff, Rear Admiral J Singh, and the Kochi cyber police station has launched a probe into the matter.

Towards the end of August, several officers and staff at the Southern Naval Command started receiving WhatsApp messages requesting gift cards. “A WhatsApp account was created using the mobile number 6009676946. The account had a profile picture of Rear Admiral J Singh in uniform. The messages received by Navy officials were regarding sending Amazon gift cards to the number. However, the number was deactivated when the matter was reported,” said a source.

Following a written complaint by the Navy’s Command Intelligence Officer, the Kochi Cyber Police registered a case.  The Indian Navy had first approached the city police commissioner, who directed the complaint to the cyber police station. The case was registered on August 30. The cyber police team is trying to track the number used to create the fake WhatsApp account, said an officer. 

“A similar method was used to create fake accounts of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and a senior bureaucrat in Kochi. The fraudsters take SIM cards using fake IDs. Once they become suspicious of being traced, the SIM card is abandoned. In most cases, north Indian gangs are involved,” the officer pointed out.

The fraudsters copy prominent personalities’ photographs from the internet to create fake WhatsApp profiles. Later, they collect contact details available online to send messages asking for money or gift cards.