A young man from Dungarpur, Rajasthan, was arrested for allegedly attempting to defraud people of money and gift cards via WhatsApp by impersonating IAS officer Tina Dabi, a collector from Jaisalmer.
The incident came to the light when Sunita Choudhary, secretary of the Urban Improvement Trust (Rajasthan Administrative Service), received a mail requesting an Amazon gift card in Tina Dabi's name.
The accused individual added Tina Dabi, an IAS officer, as his WhatsApp display picture (DP) after registering a phone number. He would then send messages to unsuspecting users as Dabi, asking for Amazon gift cards in various denominations.
Sunita Choudhary, UIT Secretary (RAS), said she received a message from the fraudster's number in perfect English on Monday evening, leading her to believe it was Tina Dabi who texted her. "I assumed she was working. In the messages, though, the fraudster requested Amazon gift cards from me. "However, I do not use Amazon," Choudhary said.
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To be sure, I called Tina Dabi, who was astounded to hear of the incident. Tina Dabi, a Jaisalmer collector, instantly alerted the SP about the attempted cheating under her name.
The SP of Jaisalmer tracked down the number with the help of a cyber squad and discovered it was in the Dungarpur district. The accused using the phone was detained after notifying the Dungarpur SP of the matter. Police are currently questioning the detained suspect about his activities.
Tina Dabi, the district collector of Jaisalmer, has warned people to be wary of messages from unknown numbers.
