Hyderabad: To be wary of strangers is one of the most valuable lessons while living in the web age.
A shady rise in the number of friend requests on Facebook for many people here, mostly from profiles that have display pictures of attractive women and claiming to be from across the border, has prompted Cybercrime officials in the city to issue advisories asking the netizens to be careful.
“A friend request on Facebook can be sent from any part of the world by anyone with good or ulterior motives. One should refrain from accepting friend requests from unknown persons on any social networking platforms,” ACP Cybercrime KVM Prasad said.
Honey traps
The Rajasthan police had recently arrested a postman for allegedly sharing confidential information with the neighbouring country. The man had landed in a honey trap after accepting a friend request on Facebook and later allegedly shared the information to his handlers for money. In June, the Delhi Police arrested a man who was allegedly sharing information with Pakistan-based handlers. The man came in contact with the handlers when he accepted a Facebook friend request from a woman.
In the last few days, officials said several people were receiving requests on Facebook with many of these found to be new accounts.
“Many of those accounts were created recently and we found that many people were accepting the requests. It could also be an attempt by organised cheating gangs operating in North India who are desperate for business by honey-trapping men for easy money,” a Cybercrime official said.
Cross-border requests
Social media users have also brought to the notice of the police that they were receiving friend requests from some persons across the borders. However, the police say it is too early to say if it was actually sent from the neighbouring country or from some other place. “A thorough study needs to be done before reaching a conclusion,” a senior police official remarked.
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