Meghalaya: Metbah Lyngdoh makes headlines over fake WhatsApp account

Shillong: After a recent case of a fake social media account in the name of Tripura minister Sushanta Chowdhury, asking people for money, it has come to light that Meghalaya Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh has also fallen victim to one such fraud.

Speaker Lyngdoh recently made headlines after a fake WhatsApp account posing as the Speaker and duping people started doing the rounds.

Speaking with mediapersons on Friday, Lyngdoh said it was “scary and concerning” with new technology coming up. “It make things easier and it is scary. So people have to be careful before getting carried away and verify and crosscheck to avoid being fooled,” said Lyngdoh.

He also informed that the impersonator managed to contact several of his colleagues, especially legislators from the Assembly.

“They forwarded me the screenshot of the messages that they got from that WhatsApp number,” said Lyngdoh.

He added that they found it unusual with the kind of message they had received and that had compelled them to make a call and ask him about the same. 

The WhatsApp message read: “Are you familiar with the Amazon pay gift card? You can possibly get them from the amazon.in website as there are some listed prospects I am gifting them today.”

“I can’t get it done myself due to meetings and I don’t have any of my cards with me. How quickly can you arrange these gifts cards because I need to send them out in less than an hour. I would provide you with the type of gift cards and the amount of each. I will reimburse you before the end of the day,” the message further read.

The Speaker said people must be cautious when it comes to such messages and fraud activities that has become a trend these days.

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