Phishing trap: How a college student’s life was turned upside down

In August 2023, Sumi Akter (not her real name), a sophomore at Lalmatia Government Mohila College, was getting ready for bed when she received an unusual message on Facebook Messenger from a college friend. 

The message read, "You look so gorgeous in this video! Where was it taken?" along with a hyperlink. Curious, Sumi clicked the link, unaware that this single click would soon bring turmoil into her life.

A few days later, Sumi received another message from the same Facebook account. This time, it contained several personal photos she had previously shared with her boyfriend, along with a demand for Tk20,000. 

Confused and distressed, Sumi reached out to her boyfriend, who had also received the same message. 

When she contacted her friend, the response was shocking—her friend's account had been compromised six months ago. "I couldn't help but break into tears," Sumi said.

Realising her Facebook account had been hacked, Sumi, the daughter of a government official, decided to pay Tk10,000 [ to the hacker] to protect her family's and personal reputation. "The story could have ended there, but it didn't. Recently, he again demanded money from me," she said.

When she refused to pay, the blackmailer created a group with several of Sumi's friends and threatened to share the compromising photos.

On 20 October, Sumi reported the incident to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police. The CID's Cyber Support Center launched an investigation, leading to the arrest of Fazle Hasan Anik, the sole suspect, from a house in Uttara on 27 October.

Anik, a civil engineering student at the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT), hails from Majhgaon union, Baraigram upazila, Natore. 

At a press conference today (28 October), CID Cyber Police Centre Deputy Inspector General SN Md Nazrul Islam disclosed that Anik had hacked over 50 accounts by sending phishing links via Facebook Messenger. 

For the past two years, he has been regularly blackmailing 15 people for money. A case has been filed against him at the Mohammadpur police station.

"To avoid being caught by the police, he did not accept money through mobile financial services like bKash or Nagad. Instead, he collected payments at various supermarkets or in cryptocurrency. He has a Binance account where he collected the payments," explained Nazrul Islam.

"To conceal his identity, Anik took payments through cryptocurrency. Additionally, he would shop at stores and instruct his victims to pay the bill via bKash or Nagad," he added.

The police official urged caution when using social media, advising users, "Always avoid phishing links, use strong passwords, and be extra cautious when sharing personal photos."