A new cyber fraud case in Morbi has exposed how scammers are impersonating school authorities to steal social media accounts and cheat victims’ contacts. The fraud later escalated into an extortion attempt, with the accused allegedly demanding ₹10 lakh from a businessman while issuing death threats.
The Morbi City Cybercrime Police registered an FIR based on a complaint filed by Bhavesh Patel, 34, who owns a tiles manufacturing unit. The case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act against users of 2 mobile numbers.
According to the complaint, an unidentified caller contacted Patel’s wife in June, pretending to be a school administrator. The caller convinced her to share a One-Time Password (OTP), after which her WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram accounts were allegedly hacked.
Police said the fraudsters used her WhatsApp account to send messages to relatives, claiming money was urgently needed either to pay for a parcel or for the treatment of a hospitalised patient. Trusting the messages, 2 relatives reportedly transferred a total of ₹30,000 to the accused.
The case became more serious when the fraudsters allegedly contacted Patel’s business partner and demanded ₹10 lakh. According to the FIR, the callers threatened to visit his residence and shoot him if the payment was not made.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the accused were targeting WhatsApp groups of parents linked to schools and tuition classes across Morbi. By posing as school management or principals, they allegedly obtained OTPs, took control of social media accounts and later sought money from victims’ contacts under different excuses, including school fee payments.
Investigators also found similar attempts targeting WhatsApp groups associated with the beauty parlour sector. Police are tracing the mobile numbers used in the fraud and analysing digital transaction records to identify those involved.
Officials have urged citizens not to share OTPs or confidential information with unknown callers and advised users to enable 2-factor authentication on social media accounts to prevent unauthorised access.
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