IB alerts public against fraudsters offering spy jobs

In some cases, these people had posed as agency employees

The Intelligence Bureau (IB) has warned the public against fraudsters over job offers made in the name of the spy agency, issuing a public notice in this regard, after the arrest of four youths in Delhi and Mumbai in two cases late last week for cheating and threatening people by posing as IB officers.

The IB said it has come to its notice that some unscrupulous elements are fraudulently inviting applications for various posts in the agency. They are also luring aspirants with the promise of assistance during the examinations conducted by the IB, and even issuing
fake appointment letters to some.

“Job aspirants are cautioned not to fall prey to the designs of such unscrupulous elements who are trying to dupe them for their personal gain,” said the notice.
It reminded the public that the recruitment to the IB is done through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and a dedicated all-India recruitment examinations for some posts. In all the recruitment processes, the applications are invited only through the online portals of the UPSC, SSC and the Union Home Ministry.

“There is no provision of offline or paper applications. The advertisements inviting online applications are also published in the Employment News, and on the websites of UPSC, SSC and MHA respectively,” said the IB.

“The applications received against fraudulent advertisements or offline applications would neither be entertained nor will this office in any way be responsible for any such fraudulent activity,” it added in the notice.

In Delhi, 25-year-old Shivshankar was arrested for allegedly posing as an IB officer and extorting money from people to start an IAS academy. kAshwini Sopar (36), Anil Chaudhary (46) and Vinod Jha (41) were arrested in Mumbai for allegedly duping citizens on the pretext of procuring contracts, tenders, apartments or jobs for them.

Sopar allegedly posed as an IAS officer on deputation with the Intelligence Bureau (IB). The racket came to light when one of the victims contacted a journalist with a television news channel. The journalist, in turn, alerted the Borivali police.