WhatsApp Hacking: Fraudsters’ new ploy to dupe people; know all about it

In this nefarious fraud, fraudsters/hackers manipulate and divert calls and messages of victims to specific numbers to obtain OTPs and then log into their WhatsApp accounts.

Hyderabad: Fraudsters keep updating themselves and keep coming up with new tricks as technology keeps improving and awareness on cyber frauds keeps raising. In a new kind of fraud, cyber fraudsters are scamming people with unwanted calls from shady numbers on WhatsApp.

Of late, the cyber wings of Pune and Pimpri Chicnhwad police have been receiving complaints about criminals hacking into WhatsApp accounts of people and demanding money from the victims and the people in their contact lists.

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In this nefarious fraud, fraudsters/hackers manipulate and divert calls and messages of victims to specific numbers to obtain OTPs and then log into their WhatsApp accounts.

Experts say that fraudsters have been scamming people by using a tactic, wherein dialing a specific number or sending a text message in a particular format to specific numbers will make mobile service providers allow users to forward calls and messages to other numbers.

According to a news report on Times of India, an Inspector of the Cyber police station in Pune said that the number of such complaints have increased lately, as cybercriminals have been deploying this technique to dupe people.

How to identify fraud/scam calls?

• Ignore generic messages like “Hi”, “Hello” from unknown numbers
• Do not provide any personal information to people who are messaging or calling you from unknown numbers
• Do not fall for urgency or pressure. Fraudsters will try to spam you by creating a sense of urgency to ensure you fell in their trap quickly without thinking
• Do not click on suspicious links sent on WhatsApp

How to prevent  falling prey to this fraud?

• Control who can view your activity on WhatsApp
• Hide you profile picture from those who are not your contacts
• Control who will be able to see when you were last online
• Do not be a part of groups that you get added to by people using numbers that are not known to you
• Limit your groups to trusted memberships and avoid adding unknown people to groups
• Do not respond to messages from unknown numbers, especially if they ask money or your personal information
• Block/report those who seem suspicious.

Few things that will help you and your loved ones from falling prey to this scam are: to install the latest version of WhatsApp; Use third party apps to identify spammers and spread awareness among people about such scams and share the information with your loved ones.