Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir Police have busted a fake job racket which was being operated through Facebook, police said on Friday.
The Cyber Police Station Kashmir Zone, Srinagar, received a written complaint from a woman hailing from Baramulla district of North Kashmir, a police spokesperson said.
In the complaint, the woman alleged that she was cheated by an unknown Facebook user operating multiple fake Facebook accounts and impersonating as a Project Officer of the ICDS on the pretext of providing a job to her.
“On receipt of this complaint, case FIR No. 23/2020 under relevant sections of the law was registered in Cyber Police Station and investigation was set into motion. During the course of the investigation, the said unknown Facebook user was found operating more than 15 fake Facebook accounts (male and female).
“He had fraudulently obtained a number of SIM cards from the victims which he was using to cheat and deceive the female victims, especially young and destitute girls. The accused by his vicious and wicked plans has grabbed lakhs of rupees from the victims on the pretext of providing them jobs,” the police spokesperson said.
He said the modus operandi of the accused included the creation of fake Facebook accounts by using profile pictures of high profile dignitaries mostly associated with politics and the television industry and sending friend requests to the young girls.
The girls, who were attracted by the profiles, would often chat with the accused, who used to impress them with his activities and promises of jobs, said the police spokesperson.
“He made them believe that he could help them in getting jobs and consequently coerced them to pay money. The accused also used to compel the young girls to share their objectionable photos and videos and then used the same for blackmailing. He would make the victims transfer money not into his personal account, but in the accounts of other victims who were cheated in the same manner and subsequently used to collect the amount by sending some other person(s) to avoid getting himself exposed,” he added.
The Police spokesperson added that the accused used to frequently change his mobile phones and SIM cards and create new Facebook accounts in the name of senior government employees and convinced the victims that they too had been provided jobs by him.
“During the course of the investigation and with strenuous efforts and rigorous analysis of his cyber signatures/footprints at different cyber platforms, the experts of the Cyber Police station Kashmir were able to trace and identify the accused,” the police spokesperson said.
“He was identified as Mohammad Hussain Mir alias Bitta Morray, a resident of KP Road Anantnag, a shopkeeper by profession. He has been arrested,” he added.
During further investigation, he said the accused was found to have used various devices and had cheated more than 100 destitute and young girls belonging to Kashmir as well as Jammu Division who were in desperate need of government jobs.
“During questioning the accused person admitted that he was inspired by a famous TV serial “Crime Patrol” and he learnt the modus operandi of social media crimes by watching the said serial. Further, one accomplice of the accused who used to provide fake SIM cards to him was also arrested. More arrests in the case are expected,” he added.
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