The Hyderabad Cybercrime police on Wednesday arrested a woman, Neha Fathima, on charges of morphing photographs of parents and teachers of
schools and allegedly intending to collect money from them by blackmailing.
Fathima, a degree student, browsed on Google, Facebook and Instagram for the profiles of various schools in Hyderabad and collected the pictures of the students and parents.
“After collecting the photographs from the profiles, she created their fake profiles on social media including on Facebook and Instagram. She further uploaded the morphed photographs of those children and their parents,”
Senior official from the CCS
Further investigation revealed that Fathima searches for schools
randomly on Google and collects their contact numbers. After obtaining numbers, she sends text and WhatsApp messages until they respond.
“Once they respond, she introduces herself as Sairah Joseph, an IT professional. To maintain anonymity, she uses different applications on her mobile,” the official
said adding that until now she messaged to the representatives of about 15 schools through Facebook and WhatsApp.
The incident came to light only when the principal of a playschool approached the Cybercrime cell and lodged a complaint in the mid of September.
She alleged that the playschool has an official Facebook page which is managed by her and she would post all events and school photos on it. She told the police
that recently, she found her fake profile with her morphed and obscene photographs.
Based on her complaint, a case was booked and based on technical evidence, Fathima was nabbed. She was produced in the court for judicial custody.