A day after senior Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Shahid Choudhary revealed that a cybercriminal was using his mobile number to defraud colleagues and friends, the District administration of Udhampur on Thursday cautioned the public about a fake WhatsApp account using DP of Deputy Commissioner Udhampur.

The fraudster is using the fake WhatsApp and asking different employees and others to pay through the Amazon Pay link etc.

The district administration has informed the public that this is an absolutely fake WhatsApp account and they should not fall into the trap of the fraudster.

Despite awareness measures, cybercriminals still at large in India

"The General public is also informed that the Deputy Commissioner has never called or sent messages and asked any specific individual for making an account or using Amazon pay link", an official handout reads.

"People should pay no heed to any messages and calls and immediately report the same to the Police" the administration has urged the people.

The Deputy Commissioner has stated that the WhatsApp account and the text messages being sent are fake and advised everyone to kindly ignore any such message and report it to concerned police authorities.

Cybercriminals
Reuters

The Deputy Commissioner has directed the concerned authority to look into the matter and take action against the fraudsters as warranted under norms.

Cybercriminal using my details to defraud colleagues, and friends: Shahid Choudhary

Earlier on Wednesday senior IAS officer Shahid Choudhary said that a cyber criminal was using his mobile number to defraud colleagues and friends.

The officer took to Twitter to inform about the matter and requested the Jammu and Kashmir Police to take strict action against the culprit.

He said a cyber criminal was using his mobile number and his picture to send messages to his colleagues and friends seeking financial help.

Choudhary, a 2009-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, is tribal affairs department secretary and chief executive officer of the Mission Youth Jammu and Kashmir. He won the prime minister's award for excellence in public administration in 2015.

Cybercriminals have recently used a photo of the Chandigarh Police chief to seek "Amazon gift cards" from his friends.

According to sources, some other senior officials in the Jammu and Kashmir administration have also been targeted by cybercriminals in a bid to extract money by hacking into bank accounts.

IGP Kashmir cautions people against fraudsters

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP) of Kashmir Vijay Kumar has warned people against these fraudsters who are using the DP of senior officers to seek money from employees.

"General public is advised to remain cautious and follow precautionary measures to deal with fraudsters using fake WhatsApp display picture to impersonate as high-profile government officers or dignitaries." It also shared an advisory on the fake WhatsApp DP scam issued by the Cyber Police Kashmir.

It has advised people not to reply to messages received from unknown WhatsApp numbers and not to transfer money or purchase online gift vouchers. It also asked people not to share banking details, install any remote access app and click on any suspicious link.

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