Facebook pages of K Rajan, KK Shailaja among accounts hacked to swindle money
Kochi: An unidentified gang has hacked the Facebook (FB) pages of several prominent personalities, including minister K Rajan and former minister KK Shailaja.
The hacking was done to defraud money through fake websites and tapping information by penetrating computers and mobile phones. They resort to fraud by posting links to fake lotteries and fake drugs, as well as links that have software that can extract information on the FB pages.
Cyber expert and Cyber Security Foundation founder Jiyas Jamal said the technical experts had to remove over 2,000 such posts from the Facebook page of K Rajan. Today, the minister shared on social media the information that he got his account back.
The Facebook pages of Kochi Corporation mayor M Anil Kumar, Aluva MLA Anwar Sadath, former Kunnathunadu MLA VP Sajeendran and minister VN Vasavan were among the several social media pages hacked recently. The hackers hack verified pages to convince people of their authenticity.
The Facebook accounts of several film actors and celebrities were also recently hacked.
The links posted on these sites are usually blocked in India and are enhanced in foreign countries by paying an amount. Therefore, such posts are not visible in India. In several low-income countries, if a nominal amount is provided, false advertising can be easily increased. The aim is to extract information and achieve financial gains by hacking into the mobile numbers of several people through the links that have been posted.
When people click on the links, the apps that track people are installed. There are international gangs that hijack verified pages and sell them for a premium.
Recently, social media, including Facebook, have increased ad prices in countries like India that rely on online platforms for ads. But in African countries and low-income countries there are opportunities to take ads to people by paying small amounts.
The gangs use this to commit fraud. When a person clicks on the links after viewing the posts, his/her private accounts, including bank accounts, are hacked. The hackers are mostly from Cambodia, Thailand, Egypt and China.
The best protection against such scams is not to click on unnecessary links that come via messages and WhatsApp. Jiyas says that before clicking on a link and sharing an offer, you should make sure that it is owned by a trustworthy company.
