Orry, Alia Bhatt, Diljit Dosanjh top choices for hackers to target victims

Hackers often use different crafty ways to lure victims and target them with intentions to steal their information and even extort money from them unlawfully. One of these ways involves using celebrity names, the list of which holds the names of Orry (Orhan Awatramani), Diljit Dosanjh, and Alia Bhatt in the top three ranks. The list is a part of McAfee’s latest report on how hackers spread cyber threats, titled ‘Celebrity Hacker Hot List 2024’.

According to the annual study, which also includes names of Hollywood celebrities such as Scarlett Johansson, hackers often try to masquerade as one of these popular celebrities to tempt victims into sharing their sensitive information, such as bank or card details and phone numbers, which they later leverage to ask for money. Hackers mostly create malicious websites or social media accounts using the names of these celebrities, and they often look genuine. That makes most people believe that a particular celebrity has contacted them.

Orry, who is a popular face on television and social media, has topped the list. McAfee’s report has suggested that hackers use his name because of how popular he is with other renowned celebrities. Punjabi singer Diljit Dosanjh comes in second, because of his fan-following and the upcoming Dil-Luminati concert tour, which landed in a controversy over the touting of tickets. Bollywood actress Alia Bhatt is third on the list, while Ranveer Singh and Virat Kohli have secured the fourth and fifth positions.

The report has also underscored how cybercriminals are employing artificial intelligence extensively to create fake accounts, websites, and other materials to spread misinformation about celebrities. Case in point: the deepfakes of Alia Bhatt and Rashmika Mandanna. They have used AI to dish out false narratives against cricketer Virat Kohli and Shah Rukh Khan. Other celebrities that have made to the list include Deepika Padukone, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Sachin Tendulkar.