Fraudsters cloned the SIM card of a deputy commissioner and tried to use it for extorting money.

Yesterday, Deputy Director of Manikganj Family Planning Department Dr Ranjit Kumar Mandal received a call from the official mobile number of the DC in the district Md Nazmus Sadat Selim.

The caller asked him to send Tk 20,000 through bKash, a mobile money transfer service, in order to get a project from the ministry.

Ranjit, however, felt suspicious and called Nazmus back to confirm the matter. It then came to light that Nazmus' cell number was cloned.

The DC confirmed the matter and a general diary was filed with Manikganj Sadar police.

Officer-in-Charge of Manikganj Sadar police Habibullah Sarkar said the matter was being investigated.

Fraudsters are known to make calls using a person's number by cloning their SIM cards. Only law enforcers have the technology to track down such callers.

The Daily Star had earlier reported an incident citing a Rab official that a gang cloned the mobile numbers of the DCs of Kushtia, Sirajganj, Nilphamari, Dinajpur and Brahmanbaria, and some other officials.