The Meghalaya Police has cautioned about certain fraudsters who impersonate senior officials and ministers to cheat innocent people.
According to police, some individuals are gathering available information about a particular organisation or department and its employees from the internet such as name, designation, contact number, pictures, etc of senior officials and subordinates for impersonation to the general public.
“The fraudsters send emails or messages to selected subordinates from the list on the pretext that he is attending a very urgent meeting and is unable to make calls and hence, asking favour from them to purchase Amazon e-gift cards for him and send the same via WhatsApp or email,” said Supriya Das, Superintendent of Police (CID).
Speaker of the Assembly Metbah Lyngdoh and cabinet ministers James Sangma and Sanbor Shullai are two of those who have been impersonated by the fraudsters.
Urging people not to fall prey to such emails or messages, Das requested people who come across or receive any messages from such senior officials to confirm and verify the facts before making any payment or purchase.
“The matter should be immediately reported to the nearest police station or Cyber Crime Wing of CID, Meghalaya for necessary action,” Das added.
