In recent times, city police departments have been flooded by complaints from social media users whose accounts have been hacked. Hackers take control, inciting panic as they disseminate alarming content on users’ timelines. Some scammers go so far as to create fake accounts, using genuine identities and photos to solicit money from the friends of the real account holders. mid-day decided to do a deep-dive into the issue to bring to readers the numerous ways criminals can prey on their technological vulnerabilities. 

Many victims struggle for months to resolve these issues with authorities, often met with vague responses or outright dismissal. Alarmingly, even law enforcement officers themselves fall victim to these thefts.