WhatsApp gift voucher scam: Now, fraudsters impersonate Chandigarh mayor
The mayor said she got to know about the scam messages from her friends who contacted her to verify if she needed money
Fraudsters trying to make a quick buck through the WhatsApp gift voucher scam have now turned to impersonating Chandigarh mayor Sarbjit Kaur.
Following complaints that someone had been posing as her on WhatsApp to seek gift vouchers and money, the mayor has appealed to residents to ignore any such demands. “If anyone receives such a message with my name or image, please do not send money/voucher and report it to the police,” she said.
In one such message, the fraudsters sent a text message: “Hello Rajinder, how are you? Where are you at the moment? There is something I need you to please do for me urgently as I am currently attending a very crucial meeting with limited phone calls....please put money in my account I need for some known person.”
The mayor said she got to know about the scam messages from her friends who contacted her to verify if she needed money.
Meanwhile, superintendent of police (Cyber) Ketan Bansal said so far they had not received any complaint from the mayor or any city resident regarding the misuse of her image.
Notably, the police, a few months back, had written to heads of various departments and institutes to circulate advisories in their offices against such fraud attempts.
The advisory had come after fraudsters tried to swindle people by posing as the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court, another high court judge, directors of PGIMER and GMCH-32, principal secretary to the Punjab governor and the head of a Panjab University department, among others.