Friend request to terror trap: Agencies warn of ISI’s new social media recruitment tactic

New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) India is witnessing a disturbing trend, with social media increasingly emerging as a key recruitment platform for terror groups. Extremist organisations are exploiting online platforms to identify, influence and radicalise vulnerable individuals, particularly the youth.

Intelligence agencies have cautioned social media users, especially young people, to exercise extreme vigilance before following suspicious accounts or accepting friend requests from unknown individuals, warning that such seemingly harmless interactions could be the first step towards radicalisation.

An Intelligence Bureau (IB) official said that even accepting a friend request from an unknown person could become the first step in a terror group’s recruitment strategy. What appears to be a harmless online interaction may be used to identify, groom and radicalise potential targets.

The IB official advised social media users to thoroughly verify the background of individuals before following their accounts or accepting friend requests. “Even if someone accepts a request unknowingly, they must remain extremely cautious if the person later initiates conversations or attempts to build a rapport online,” the official added.

Intelligence officials said that with social media becoming an integral part of daily life, a vast majority of young people are highly active across multiple platforms. According to officials, Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has exploited this growing online presence through its Pakistan-based Shahzad Bhatti network, using social media to identify, groom and recruit several Indian youths into anti-national activities.

Investigations have found that the recruitment pattern adopted by Pakistan-backed terror networks is multi-layered. While social media remains the primary platform for identifying and targeting potential recruits, ISI-backed operatives also rely on messaging applications to establish contact, build trust and eventually lure young people into their network.

A probe by the Assam police found that once youths are recruited on social media, normal conversations take place for nearly a month. Following this, once the recruiter realises that the youths are ready to perform some task for them, they are immediately moved to messaging channels where covert communications take place.

The first step is to establish trust; following this, there are long winding conversations on secret chat applications. The final step is to assign the task, which could range from gathering sensitive information to carrying out a targeted attack for money.

Another official said that a different trend that has come to light is that the recruiters do not mention the name of any terror group while adding new youngsters.

“Mentioning names such as the Jaish-e-Mohammed or Lashkar-e-Taiba tends to frighten the youths as these are known terror organisations. This means that the recruitments are not driven by ideology, but money,” the official added.

Investigations into several Shahzad Bhatti-linked modules busted by security agencies have revealed a common pattern. None of the accused questioned so far admitted to being associated with any terror outfit. Instead, most told investigators that they carried out the tasks assigned to them solely in return for money, without questioning the identity or motives of those directing them.

Officials say that even the monetary transactions are not done directly by the recruiters. The ISI has its operatives in India, who transfer the money to these young recruits. Those transferring the money are in turn reportedly paid by the ISI recruiters through hawala and other discreet channels.

The security agencies are on the hunt for these people who handle the monetary dealings. Officials say that tracking these persons down is important as this will clearly help establish the financial trail.

An official said security agencies are carrying out a large-scale operation to dismantle these recruitment networks. While several individuals linked to the Shahzad Bhatti modules have already been arrested, the bigger challenge lies in identifying and tracking those who are still unknowingly engaging in seemingly harmless conversations with recruiters on social media before they are drawn into the network.

“This is the first phase of the recruitment process, and it would be important to stop them before the Bhatti network makes the next move,” the official also added.

The second phase of the recruitment is a more dangerous one as this involves completely indoctrinating the youth. This is where the propaganda and the actual task are introduced, and hence the phase is extremely dangerous, the official also noted.

–IANS

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