Social media fraud traps: 491 hacking complaints in 11 months, 247 on Facebook
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Elaborate traps of fraud are being set on social media. Messages or links with enticing offers are coming from acquaintances' IDs. Clicking on those links causes users to lose their own accounts. Using hacked IDs, large sums of money are being extorted from relatives. Such alarming pictures have emerged from recent statistics of the Cyber Police Center (CPC) of the Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
In the last 11 months (from June 2025 to April 2026), the CID Cyber Center has received 491 hacking-related complaints. More than half of these are incidents of Facebook ID hacking. Facebook hacking complaints totaled 247, email 103, WhatsApp 79, Imo 16, Telegram 8, YouTube 1, Instagram 3, TikTok 10, game accounts 10, websites 3, and other social media hacking complaints numbered 11.
Not only hacking, but fraud is also being carried out by creating exact duplicate or clone IDs. In the last 11 months, the CID has received 211 cloning complaints. Topping the list is Facebook: 174 Facebook IDs have been cloned to trap users into fraud.
Additionally, there have been 7 complaints each of email, WhatsApp, and SIM cloning. Instagram and TikTok cloning incidents occurred 3 times each. Imo accounts were cloned 3 times. Furthermore, 2 complaints have been filed about cloning mobile banking accounts such as bKash, Nagad, or Rocket to siphon off money.
Hackers open fake IDs in the exact names of acquaintances. Then, via Messenger, they send links enticing users with "easy money earning" or "winning prizes." Out of curiosity, if someone clicks on that link, their ID gets hacked within moments. Many do not file complaints for small-scale fraud due to fear of embarrassment or hassle. However, people turn to the CID when they fall victim to major fraud.
In the last two years, the CID has received 701 cybercrime-related complaints. In response to these complaints, 39 cases have already been filed.
On May 4, Sadik Fuad sent a message via Facebook Messenger to Tamim. The short message said, "Tamim, have you eaten? I'll show you something awesome—everything I've been playing for three days, I'm winning. Payment is first. Join and get 77,777." Along with a website link, the fraudster also sent a screenshot of a withdrawal from Rocket.
As soon as Tamim clicked on the link Fuad sent, his Facebook ID was hacked. Not only Tamim, but hundreds of people from various classes and professions are falling victim to such Facebook fraud regularly.
CID spokesperson Special Police Superintendent Jasim Uddin Khan said that based on specific complaints, the process of identifying and arresting those involved is ongoing. He stated, "In two years, 701 cybercrime-related complaints have been received. In response, 39 cases have been filed. In these cases, those involved are being identified and arrested through investigation."
The official also said that any cybercrime-related complaint is accepted around the clock on the CID and CPC pages and via hotline numbers. He stated that in response to these complaints, necessary measures are taken immediately.
