SAMBALPUR: A 17-year-old boy was arrested by police on Thursday for duping people by opening fake Facebook profiles of prominent personalities including Health and Family Welfare Minister Naba Kishore Das, Balangir MLA Narasingha Mishra and Sambalpur Collector Subham Saxena. The scammer, who belongs to Ramji Mandirpada under Sambalpur Town police limits, used the fake social media accounts to collect money and gifts from people.
The fraud came to light when one Sidharth, a resident of Dalaipada, lodged a police complaint on June 11. He alleged that someone had opened a fake Facebook account in his name by using his photograph. Friend requests had been sent from the fake account to many people across Sambalpur and money collected from them. On the basis of the complaint, a cyber investigation team was formed by Sambalpur SP Sanjeev Arora to trace the accused. Following investigation, police detected involvement of the minor and apprehended him.
The boy admitted to have created hundreds of fake Facebook accounts in the names of eminent persons and collected money and gifts from the people in the friend lists of those persons. Explaining the modus operandi, the SP said the teen used to chat with people in the friend lists for a period of time and seek gifts and cash from them. He used his bank accounts where money was transferred and sent his accomplices to collect gifts from the persons concerned.
Citing an instance, the SP said the boy cheated one Krishna Majhi of Burla by impersonating his name and collected Rs 1,000 from the latter. Similarly, he tried to get a mobile phone from one Nirmal Bhoi of Budharaja in the city. Both Krishna and Nirmal had lodged complaint with the police. Further investigation is underway to trace others involved in the case and details of the money and gifts being collected, Arora said. Earlier, the minor boy had hacked the Facebook account o f Sambalpur MLA Jayanarayan Mishra and demanded money from different persons who were in Mishra’s friend list.
Facebook, a money-spinner
Arora said, the boy was a habitual offender and even his father was an accomplice in one case. The son-father duo had taken `2.97 lakh from one Manoranjan Panigarhi of Ramji Mandirpada with a false assurance to help him get licence for a petrol pump. Both were then apprehended and the boy was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, Sambalpur. But, even after being released on bail, the boy continued to commit similar offences, the SP said.