Fraudsters have cloned the mobile phone number of Faridpur Press Club President Kabirul Islam Siddiqui, using it to extort money through a digital banking scam.
On Sunday, scammers duped Siddiqui's assistant, Md. Naeem Mollah, out of Tk 40,540. According to a General Diary (GD) filed at Faridpur Kotwali Police Station, the fraudsters sent WhatsApp messages from Siddiqui's cloned number (01711463918), urgently requesting funds via bKash.
Without verifying the request, Naeem sent Tk 10,000 to a provided bKash number at 12:36 PM, followed by Tk 30,540 to a second number at 1:09 PM. A third demand for Tk 20,000 finally raised his suspicion. Naeem then contacted Siddiqui directly and realized he had been deceived.
In response, Faridpur Press Club General Secretary Mahbub Piyal issued a public warning on Sunday afternoon. He urged everyone to ignore financial requests originating from the president's number and strictly advised against sharing OTPs, PINs, or personal data.
"To my knowledge, over Tk 40,000 has already been stolen. We cannot confirm if others have also fallen victim," Siddiqui stated, urging public vigilance.
Faridpur Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mahmudul Hasan confirmed the incident, stating that police have launched an investigation based on the GD to identify and apprehend the culprits.
