Jaipur, April 28 (IANS) The Cyber Crime Branch of the Rajasthan Police on Tuesday issued a special advisory warning of a sharp rise in impersonation fraud cases across the state, in which criminals pose as senior officials to dupe employees.​

Acting on the directions of V. K. Singh, Additional Director General of Police (Cyber Crime), authorities have urged both government and private sector employees to remain vigilant.​

According to Shantanu Kumar Singh, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Cyber Crime), fraudsters first gather detailed information from official websites and social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook to understand organisational hierarchies and ongoing work, and in some cases even infiltrate departmental WhatsApp groups to access contacts.​

Using this data, they create fake profiles with the display picture of senior officials and send urgent messages claiming they are in meetings and need immediate financial help, gift vouchers, or transfers.​

In more sophisticated cases, they use artificial intelligence to clone officials’ voices, making calls appear genuine, or to send spoofed emails that closely resemble official addresses with minor changes.​

Another common tactic involves creating fake medical emergencies to pressure victims into quick payments.​

The police have advised citizens to always verify such requests by calling the official’s known number, avoid trusting profile pictures alone, remain cautious of messages that create urgency, and never share one-time passwords, bank details, or sensitive information over messaging platforms.​

In case of any such fraud or attempt, citizens should immediately report the matter via the Cyber Helpline (1930), the online portal www.cybercrime.gov.in, or the nearest cyber police station, as timely action can help prevent financial loss and assist in tracking the perpetrators.​

–IANS

arc/dan