Hyderabad: Donuru Ananya Reddy, who achieved the third rank in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2023, has sought help from the cyber crime police. Ananya, a 22-year-old from Mahabubnagar, lodged a complaint on April 27, stating that she is being impersonated on social media platforms such as Instagram, X, and Telegram. She reported that these accounts have amassed a large number of followers and are deceiving students by offering mentorship programs under her name.
Following her success in the UPSC examination, numerous fraudulent social media accounts were created in her name, according to the police. The impersonators have also been illicitly collecting money from aspirants, potentially causing financial harm to those deceived by the scam. The police noted that the fraudsters are attempting to exploit her name for their benefit.
Ananya expressed her concern over the misuse of her photographs, which constitutes not only impersonation but also an invasion of her privacy.
The police stated, “After Ananya secured the third rank in the UPSC examination, they are using her photographs and profiting in the guise of mentorship. We are striving to track down the individuals behind these fake accounts, handles, and pages.”
In response to her complaint, the police registered a case under Sections 419 (cheating by personation) and 420 (cheating) of the IPC, and Section 66C (fraudulent or dishonest use of electronic signature, password, or any other unique identification feature of any other person) of the Information Technology Act.
Ananya provided the necessary evidence to support her complaint and urged the police to take swift action against the culprits to safeguard the interests of genuine aspirants.
The case file has been handed over to Inspector P Narendra Reddy of the Cyberabad cyber crime police station for further investigation.
