GUWAHATI, Aug 27: The Internet Protocol (IP) address of the device that was being used to dupe people in the name of the Guwahati police chief has been traced to Nigeria, the top official said on Saturday.
The IP address is used to define a number which is given to each computer when it is connected to the Internet.
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Commissioner of Police Harmeet Singh said in a tweet that the phone number being used by some fraudster impersonating him has been blocked and the IP address has been located.
“The scammer’s number was banned for violation of WhatsApp terms of service, in a couple of hours. The IP address was traced to Nigeria. We’re working further with @WhatsApp on this,” he said.
“On a lighter note – scammers got a good dose in reply to their messages from those they contacted. Pls be alert and don’t fall for such apparent scams!” the senior IPS officer added.
Singh had on Friday said that messages were being sent out through a WhatsApp number with his photo as its profile picture.
“Some scammer has copied my photo from the internet and is sending WhatsApp messages. Request anyone who gets such a message to press the Report & Block buttons available in WhatsApp. @WhatsApp it’s time you woke up to this scam, which is rampant,” Singh had written on the micro-blogging site.
He had also shared screenshots of WhatsApp messages being sent from the scammer’s number with his photo as the display picture.
The Assam Police had last month issued an advisory against ‘Whatsapp-based impersonation attacks’ following frequent cases of unidentified fraudsters using profile photos and names of known persons to collect money in the form of gift cards.
Photos of a chief minister of a northeastern state and senior civil and police administration officers have been used by such fraudsters, it had claimed. (PTI)
