Actor Vikrant Massey has revealed his family’s horrific experiences with cybercrime, including hacking of social media accounts and fraudulent withdrawals from his wife’s bank. Speaking at the trailer launch of JioHotstar’s film ‘Pritam And Pedro’, which deals with the issue, Massey shed light on the spreading threat and his own encounters. The series aims to blend entertainment with the human impact of online fraud.
Vikrant Massey revealed that he and his family have faced frequent cybercrime incidents. The actor said hackers targeted his social media accounts several times, while money was fraudulently withdrawn from his wife’s account twice.
The revelation came during the trailer launch of JioHotstar’s upcoming series ‘Pritam And Pedro’, which explores cybercrime and its impact on people.
Vikrant Massey remembers cybercrime attacks on his family
Bollywood Hungama reported that Massey spoke about the incidents. Asked if he had personally faced cyber crimes, he said: “This has happened to me 3-4 times. My Instagram account was hacked twice. My Facebook account was hacked once. Money was fraudulently debited from my wife’s account twice.”Massey also said that his sister-in-law’s father had recently been scammed. Then contact cybersecurity expert Amit Dubey. “We all here have seen that he is a professional. So, he helped us,” the actor said.Dube attended the launch and demonstrated how easy it is for fraudsters to gain access to personal devices by hacking a journalist’s phone. The party was held at a five-star hotel in Mumbai.Arshad Warsi responded to Masi’s account with a joke. “Lekin maine toh ek hi baar kiya tha! (But I only did it once!),” he said, eliciting laughter.
‘Pritam & Pedro’ movie cast, story and release date
Massey said that the series deals with a topic that affects people directly and indirectly. “It is based on cybercrime, so it is a relevant topic. We have been targeted by it directly or indirectly,” he said. He added that the show combines entertainment with the human side of cybercrime.The actor plays Martin and described the character as an unconventional antagonist. He said Rajkumar Hirani’s stories give purpose even to the heroes and avoid familiar stereotypes.Masi also described working with Hirani as a great opportunity. He joked that he was tired of playing the role of “gaav ka gareeb (poor villager) or boy next door” and wanted to try something different.The launch was attended by Rajkumar Hirani, Warsi, Veer Hirani, Mona Singh, Shantanu Moitra, Swanand Kirkire, director Avinash Arun and Alok Jain. Shreya Ghoshal made a special appearance and performed the song “Piya Piya Piya”.‘Pritam And Pedro’ will start streaming on JioHotstar on July 3.