Army schools issue advisory as Pakistani Intelligence Operatives target students for sensitive information

JAMMU: Many students, including those of Army Public Schools across India, are getting calls and WhatsApp messages from Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs), asking them to join particular social media groups and share sensitive information, Army sources said on Tuesday.

The students are receiving calls and WhatsApp messages from PIOs from two mobile phone numbers 8617321715 and 9622262167, they said. Individuals, posing as school teachers, target students by asking them to join "new class groups" and by sending them one-time passwords, the sources said, adding that once the students join the groups, they are asked to share sensitive information.

These suspected PIOs are calling and sending messages by initially giving reference to something known to the students to convince them that it is their teachers who are contacting them, the sources said. According to an advisory issued by the principals of Army Public Schools, the PIOs are asking students about details like their father's job, school routine and timings, teachers' names, uniform etc.

Schools and colleges are requested to sensitise teachers and students about this, it said. The advisory said the messages can come from other numbers as well, and the modus operandi can change also. It asked the parents of the students to remain vigilant about the suspicious calls.