‘Boss Scam’: Don’t respond to texts from DGP, cops warned

CHENNAI: After district Collectors and Chennai Mayor, now Tamil Nadu Police Chief, DGP C Sylendra Babu has become the latest target of scamsters, who are using his photograph as display pictures on Whatsapp, and sending messages to police personnel asking them to buy an Amazon gift voucher and send him.

Officials in the DGP (Director General of Police) office confirmed of the same and said that alerts are being sent to all personnel to not fall for it.

Greater Chennai Police, in their official social media accounts posted, “Please do not respond to SMS and WhatsApp message from an unknown number claiming to be DGP, TN to send Amazon gift cards. It is fake. Please ignore it.”

Online shopping giant, Amazon terms this a 'Boss Scam' wherein you receive an unexpected/unsolicited email or text message from your boss or a leader in an organisation asking that you purchase Amazon pay gift cards and send the cards or the claim codes to that person. According to Amazon, the scammer may claim they are out of town, in a conference call, or otherwise engaged and that is why they need you to make the purchase for them.

A cybercrime officer said that government officials are an easy target for 'boss scam' as the photographs of district Collectors and police chiefs the phone numbers of officials are easily available online. There are about 1.2 lakh police personnel in the State.

A month ago, messages were sent to at least three zonal officers in the city Corporation from an impostor, claiming to be Chennai Mayor, R Priya.

Some of the district Collectors across the State have already made complaints to the police, after their staff received similar messages from impostors.