Now, BSF asks its men to be careful on social media

CHANDIGARH: The Border Security Force has alerted its troops deployed in Punjab against joining unknown Whatsapp groups.

The directive comes on the heels of a similar advisory by the Army urging its personnel to be cautious over joining social media groups, especially on WhatsApp.

The new alert was sounded by the BSF intelligence wing after getting information of suspicious activities on WhatsApp group ‘KBC online,’ created by a Pakistani telephone number.


The Pakistan intelligence operatives reportedly target BSF personnel to steal information in the name of the popular game show, which is set to start in August.

“The person operating this number is trying to add BSF personnel. After adding them, they (the administrator) send an attractive link on these groups and the moment the link is clicked, they get access to the device used by the trooper,” stated the advisory by the BSF headquarters, issued on July 8. The circular has asked top brass of the BSF in Eastern and Western Command, and all the frontiers to sensitise troops.

The advisory also directed all personnel to change their WhatsApp settings to prevent anyone not in their contact list from adding them to any open-ended group. The special directors-general (SDGs) of Eastern and Western Command of the BSF and the heads of frontiers, led by officers of the rank of inspector-general, have been asked to ensure “strict compliance” of the advisory.