Online impersonation refers to the act of assuming someone else’s identity or creating a fake online persona for the purpose of deceiving or misleading others. It can take various forms, such as creating fake social media accounts, using someone else’s name or photo, or impersonating a celebrity or public figure.
It can have serious consequences, such as damaging the reputation of the person being impersonated or causing emotional harm to victims of cyberbullying. In many cases, it is also illegal and can result in civil or criminal charges.
The Sun Daily reports that the police in Johor have started looking for the person who created a fake Instagram (IG) account, ‘HRHCROWNPRINCEOFJOHOR,’ and pretended to be Tunku Makhota of Johor (TMJ) Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim to deceive people after they received a police report filed by the Johor Royal Palace media.
The impersonator used the profile and account details of TMJ on IG to trick potential victims and sent messages to several companies or business people seeking funds for business projects, claiming to be the TMJ. Some companies were persuaded and made an undisclosed payment into the account that the impersonator had set up, allegedly to secure projects.
The police have initiated investigations under Sections 419 and 420 of the Penal Code for cheating by impersonation and cheating, and have urged the public to verify the authenticity of messages they receive to avoid such scams.
They have also asked the victims of such scams to come forward and lodge reports to assist in the investigation.
This is the official TMJ account on IG. Please beware of any other accounts pretending to be the Crown Prince of Johor.
