Crime is not always committed by physically harming someone. Cybercrime, i.e. sitting behind a computer screen, hacking people’s accounts and misusing their personal information or pictures is as much a crime as stalking someone in real life. Even harassing someone by constantly calling, texting or messaging them on social media constitutes as cybercrime.
The latest victim to fall prey to cybercrime is cricketer Mohammed Siraj, a fast pacer who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017. Siraj realised on Tuesday that his Facebook, Instagram and Gmail accounts were hacked after the hacker sent out ‘I Love You’ messages to the Siraj’s friends and contacts.
Siraj came to know of the hacking when some of his friends confronted him about the messages. He then lodged a complaint with the Cybercrime Wing and the police traced the hacker to a 14-year-old boy, who is a huge fan of the player.
As per a report by The Deccan Chronicle, the police found out that the hacker gave a phone number as the new password for the accounts. That number led them to a 14-year-old minor who is a watchman’s son. It also turns out that the hacker’s brother and Siraj are friends.
On finding out that the boy is a minor, Siraj requested the police to not book him or file a case against him. He did not want to ruin the boy’s future and hence, decided on leaving the matter be.
Given the huge fan following that Siraj has in Hyderabad, the police wasted no time in tracing the hacker and resolving the matter.
While ethical hacking can help the authorities with several things, cybercrime can have serious consequences. No matter the age of the hacker, hacking with the intent of fun or causing harm is a criminal offence and must be reported/punished.