Manivannan lodges complaint over fake FB accounts in his name

BENGALURU: Senior IAS officer Major (retd) Manivannan is being harassed by cyber fraudsters who have created fake Facebook accounts in his name using his photos. They are sending messages pretending to be selling furniture, claiming that their friends in the CRPF are transferring and selling furniture at a good price.

The scammers send messages saying, “Our friends are working in CRPF and are being transferred, so they are selling furniture. I have seen it, and you can buy it if you want”. They then provide Manivannan’s phone number, claiming to be his friend and send photos of the furniture. They create a sense of urgency and trick people into sending money.

According to the complaint, the scammers have created four fake Facebook accounts and have cheated people out of lakhs of rupees. This is the second time in the past nine months that Manivannan has filed a complaint with the police.

Manivannan, who is the Principal Secretary of the Social Welfare Department, has filed an FIR with the Bengaluru Central Cyber Crime police station. Previously, the scammers had used similar tactics to cheat people in the name of various businesses.