On Friday, September 1, the Pathankot police in Punjab exposed eight fake Facebook accounts that attempted to honeytrap Indians and make them work against India. The fake social media accounts allegedly tried to trap the youngsters in the Pathankot region by showing them pornographic videos online.
The Police released a list of 8 fake social media accounts, which they said operated in the names of young women. The Police also asked the youth of Punjab to not fall for the fake accounts.
In the statement, the Pathankot Police stated that the area in which this usually happens is very sensitive due to its proximity to the Indo-Pakistan border and that there are some spy agencies who work to influence Indian youth against their own country.
“By trapping the youth of the country in pornographic videos and other types of traps, the agencies are trapping them in their clutches. The enemies of the country at large are misleading the Indian youth through social media,” the police said.
🚨 SSP Pathankot Police raises awareness about the honey trap tactic. Stay vigilant and protect yourself from potential risks. 🚫 #CyberSafety #SecurityAwareness pic.twitter.com/S8mZmmgFPC
— Pathankot Police (@PathankotPolice) September 1, 2023
The SSP Pathankot Police also said that these fake accounts first send friend requests and then slowly start chatting. Later, they influence the users to share WhatsApp numbers and pornographic videos online and also save the record of the same. This recording is then used to blackmail the users for money.
The police warned the public that if a girl’s friend request shows up, they should be cautious. They said that it is not necessary that the girl sending the request might be the real girl; ‘she’ could also be a country’s enemy. Some of the fake accounts flagged by the Punjab Police are in the names of Aniya Rajput, Alina Gupta, Anaya Anaya, Dipa Kumari, Ishanika Ahir, Manpreet Preety, Neha Sharma, and Prisha Agarwal.
In Punjab, the Pakistani Intelligence Agency, ISI, has always tried to use diverse strategies to lure people into working against their country, particularly youths. “You should have control over your social media accounts. Be sure first of who is sending you friend requests, and who is calling you. Please avoid and block such fake social media accounts. Do not fall for any such trap,” the SSP Pathankot Police said in the statement.
