Mumbai, July 16: The Mumbai Police have busted an international racket that was involved in the creation of fake social media profiles for duping people, the sale of fake followers and likes and other fraudulent activities. The international racket used to run websites offering fake followers and likes to both fake and genuine social media accounts. The scam was busted after Bollywood singer Bhoomi Trivedi lodged a complaint against a fake Instagram profile created under her name. Bitcoin Scam Details: How Twitter Accounts of High Profile Figures Including Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos Were Hacked And Action Taken by Social Networking Site to Control The Damage.

According to a report, a 21-year-old man, identified as Abhishek Davade, who works for a website called followerskart.com, has been arrested by the Central Intelligence Unit (CIU). His portal allegedly provides fake followers and likes to people for a fee using automated software known as a bot. According to the Mumbai Police, there are at least 100 such websites and 54 of them have been identified. Davade alone allegedly garnered more than five lakh fake followers for 176 social media profiles. Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, PUBG, Tinder Among 89 Apps Banned by Indian Army; Full List Here.

As part of the investigation, the police will question 18 celebrities, including film directors, choreographers and models, who allegedly used the service of such websites to boost their influence online. The international racket came to light when Bhoomi Trivedi approached the police against a fake Instagram profile made under her name and that was being used to dupe other people.

"A few of my industry friends and followers recently told me they had received a message from a PR agency claiming they had got my Instagram account verified for Rs 4,000. I was shocked to see the fraudsters using screenshots of a conversation between them and the person who runs the fake account to gain the trust of others," Trivedi told Mumbai Mirror. She added that a few of her followers and friends told her they had fallen victim to the scam.

After registering an FIR, police arrested Davade from Mumbai's Kurla area. It was then revealed that his website was part of a larger international racket involving crores of fake profiles, followers, views, comments and likes.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 16, 2020 04:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).