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Kozhikode: An attempt was made to embezzle money from employees in Kozhikode district court and Kerala High Court by misusing the photo of a district judge. According to reports, the fraudsters used WhatsApp profile photo and official address of Kozhikode District and Sessions Judge P Ragini to cheat the court staff.
On January 26, the employees received a message from an account with a picture of a district judge informing them that they had won an online prize. An employee of the high court, the protocol officer, and a manager in the district court received the same message. The message directs the employees to submit Rs 50,000 before receiving the gift. It also requested to furnish the bank account details. The scammers used a friendly tone before switching to the topic to gift.
Doubting the authenticity, the manager and protocol officer contacted the judge, who clarified that no such messages had been sent. The judge filed a complaint with the Kozhikode city police chief. The High Court was also informed about this incident. Following the order of the High Court, a special inquiry team was formed. A joint investigation from Kozhikode City Cyber Cell and City District Crime Branch found that the message was sent from a mobile phone located in Kolkata.
With this, a five-member team started an investigation along with the help of the West Bengal Police. The preliminary conclusion is that the fraudsters may have obtained the judge's photo and the employee's phone numbers from the High Court's website.
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