After a senior police officer in Tamil Nadu was conned in the name of the Director-General of Police, the Tamil Nadu police have issued an alert on the prevalence of "Boss Scam" in the State.
In recent weeks, government officials have also fallen victim to the fraud, in which the fraudsters impersonated a few Collectors. Chennai Mayor Priya, too, had filed a police complaint after some fraudsters impersonated her.
According to sources, in the latest instance, a police officer got a message which appeared to have been from the DGP, asking him to buy gift vouchers of a leading e-commerce platform. After the details of identity, including the display picture, of the number from which the message came was stored in the name of the DGP, the officer walked into the trap by purchasing the gift cards and was relieved of his money, the sources said.
Realising that he had been cheated, the officer flagged the issue at the appropriate level. DGP C. Sylendra Babu sent out an alert to all officers about the online fraud. Asking police officers to ignore the message which came as SMS or WhatsApp text, he said one officer had already been cheated.
Mr. Babu said in a video message that government and private company employees should be aware of the scam in which they might get a message, appearing to be from the Head of the Department, asking for gift cards worth a few thousands of rupees. The suspects would make it appear that the number they messaged belonged to the ‘boss’.
By the time the victims realised they had been cheated, the money would have been lost. “In case you come across such a message, call 100 or 112 for police assistance as early as possible,” the DGP said.
Cyber alert
The Cyber Crime Wing of the State police issued an alert on Thursday cautioning government employees against the ‘Social Media Impersonation Scam’. The advisory explained how payment through UPI, Net Banking, Credit Card and Debit Card were for purchasing Amazon Gift Cards for family or friends on special occasions.
When a fraud or scam is reported, it would be possible for the police to intervene and stop payment. But it would not be possible to stop payment, freeze the transaction and recover the money if the gift cards were used by the suspects.
On how fake accounts appearing to be original were created by the accused persons, the advisory said malicious accounts were being created in the names of senior government officials. Since their photographs were easily available online, the fraudsters used them as display picture.
The suspects then give a missed call and send a message to their co-workers or subordinates asking them to purchase Amazon Gift Cards saying that the money would be reimbursed later. People who came across such messages or calls were told to lodge a complaint on https://cybercrime.gov.in or by calling 1930.
