Goons prowl in fake FB pages

Hyderabad: A number of cases of fake Facebook accounts created by cyber mischief makers have been reported to the city cybercrime wing. Bureaucrats and even company heads, who had no FB accounts, found fake FB pages created in their names and the friend requests sent out.

A fake account, pretending to belong to a person who does not own it, or assumed a false name of someone who does not exist, comes under cyberoffence when it is used to malign a person. The issue is rampant and some bureaucrats have filed complaints.

Cybercrime super-intendent of police Ram Mohan, citing a case, said, “A company chief had no FB account. A fake account was created supported with a photograph and friend requests were sent to subordinates. The cyber violators tried to extract confidential information from the subordinates who assumed that it was their chief. Private messages were sent from the account for extracting confidential information.”

This was not a standalone case, he said. Records showed most complainants were women. Fake accounts were created in their name, mostly by men as also ex-lovers, out of grudge with an intention to damage their reputation. Nude pictures and videos, obscene content and even statements causing communal divide are a cause for worry.

The Hyderabad and Cyberabad cyber wings have a ‘market intelligence’ crew to deal with online and social media and hacking complaints. It works in coordination with the FB administration.