Nagpur
Cybercriminals have been using various tricks to trap citizens, and recently, they have started targeting IAS and IPS officers as well. Retired IAS officer Pravin Pardeshi’s Facebook account was hacked, and cybercriminals used it to trap victims by advertising old furniture for sale. Shockingly, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s personal assistant (PA) fell victim to the scam and lost ₹75,000. However, a timely call to Pardeshi prevented a bigger fraud. A case has been registered in Nagpur regarding the incident.
The complainant has been identified as Vinayak Kulkarni (45, Bandra, Mumbai). He was in Nagpur in December for the winter session of the legislature. On December 22, while having lunch with his colleague and IT engineer Alam Khan, Khan received a message on Facebook Messenger from Pravin Pardeshi. The message included pictures of furniture and stated that a CRPF Assistant Commandant was transferring and selling items like a sofa, cupboard, AC, cycle, inverter, dining table, bed, fridge, TV, etc., for just ₹1.05 lakh. The message also asked to confirm if they were interested in purchasing the items.
Alam Khan forwarded the details to Kulkarni via WhatsApp. Seeing the deal as very affordable, Kulkarni expressed interest in purchasing the items. Accordingly, Alam Khan sent a message to Pardeshi’s Facebook Messenger.
The caller identified himself as Santosh Kumar, an Assistant Commandant in CRPF. He claimed that all the items were stored in a godown in Bhiwandi and could be bought for ₹1 lakh. Trusting him, Kulkarni transferred ₹50,000 via UPI. Later, the caller demanded an additional ₹25,000, citing packing charges. Kulkarni, busy with the session, agreed to pay the balance amount upon returning to Mumbai. However, under further pressure, he transferred ₹25,000 more.
Two days later, Kulkarni asked Santosh Kumar to deliver the items to his new house in Pune. However, from December 24, Kumar’s phone was switched off. Suspecting foul play, Kulkarni asked Alam Khan to contact Pravin Pardeshi directly. It was then revealed that Pardeshi’s Facebook account had been hacked, and unknown criminals were sending furniture sale messages using his account.
Kulkarni initially filed a complaint on the National Cyber Portal and later registered a case at the local police station.
