Cyber frauds using ‘Shreya Ghoshal ads’ to scam netizens, warns Tamil Nadu cyber police DGP

Dr Sandeep Mittal, Additional Director General of Police, Cyber Crime Wing, Tamil Nadu, said such advertisements are “traps” to lure public into cyber scams.

indian express fake news, fake news, shreya ghoshal,

Dr Sandeep Mittal shared two screenshots on X showing how doctored news stories, that look like articles by The Indian Express, are doing the rounds on social media. He also warned netizens to not fall prey to such posts. (Screenshots shared by Dr. Sandeep Mittal on X)

Verified X handles with barely 10 to 15 followers are promoting social media posts that resemble news articles on singer Shreya Ghoshal to lure gullible netizens into cyber scams, Dr Sandeep Mittal, Additional Director General of Police, Cyber Crime Wing, Tamil Nadu said in a social media post on Thursday.

Sharing two screenshots, which resembled stories by The Indian Express, Mittal wrote, “Verified @X Handles, having 10 to 15 followers, promoting Shreya Ghoshal Ads are scam traps to lure public into cyber scams. Be alert, be safe……. @X should have mechanism to detect and block such handles openly indulging in criminal activities.”

Verified @X Handles, having 10 to 15 followers, promoting Shreya Ghoshal Ads are scam traps to lure public into cyber scams. Be alert, be safe……. @X should have mechanism to detect and block such handles openly indulging in criminal activities. pic.twitter.com/SW6pOfkuz7

— Dr. Sandeep Mittal, IPS (@smittal_ips) March 5, 2025

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Mittal’s warning came days after Ghoshal took to Instagram to inform her fans that her X account has been hacked. She wrote, “Hello fans and friends. My Twitter / X account is hacked since February 13th. I have tried every thing in my capacity to reach out to the X team. But there has been no response beyond a few auto generated responses.”

Story continues below this ad

Ghoshal added, “I am unable to even delete my account since I can’t log in any more.”

The singer also warned her fans against clicking on links posted on her hacked X account. “Please don’t click on any link or believe any message written from that account. They are all spams and fishing (phishing) links,” Ghoshal wrote.

On how she would inform her fans if she is able to recover her X account, Ghoshal said, “I will update personally through a video if the account is recovered and is safe.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by shreyaghoshal (@shreyaghoshal)

//www.instagram.com/embed.js

Meanwhile, her fans expressed their support for the singer on Instagram. One user wrote, “Didi, please try to reach out to the higher authorities. They will resolve the matter, just like they did before. That account holds years of love and memories! it’s an emotion for us. We miss you so much.”

Story continues below this ad

Another user wrote, “Hope we get back you soon there 😭We will wait for you there. Your Twitter SGFamily miss you so much. Many emotions are attached there. Hope you get back your account soon.”

How to identify fake pages?

This is not the first time fake pages have tried to pass off as The Indian Express. Here’s a quick guide on how to ascertain the authenticity of a news article.

The tall claims should ring the first bell. The Indian Express does not vouch for financial products or services
Check the URL. Our domain address is always https://indianexpress.com/
Often you will notice that the masthead has a typo, missing an S in Express or spelling Indian incorrectly