Kolkata Police has made a Facebook post about a new WhatsApp Scam. With this method, the scammers are just one misclick from you away from full access to your account. The police is cautioning people about this method. This warning was issued after the complaint of a student and a businessman. As per reports, this scam first surfaced on World Yoga day on June 21, last year. Here’s what we know:
How does the scam work?
Scammers first hack a user's Facebook account. Through the hacked account, the scammer asks the friends of that user to join Yoga Classes, which he has started. After this the scammer sends a link and asks the recipient to click on it. Upon clicking the link, the scammers get full access to the target’s Whatsapp account.
What will happen if WhatsApp is hacked?
With the help of this code, scammers get access to the user's WhatsApp account. In this case, scammers had used the pretext of yoga classes to trap people. As soon as someone gets trapped, the scammer extort the victims and ask them obscene amounts of money.
Not only this, these scammers also use people's WhatsApp accounts for illegal purposes. Police have cautioned users from such scams.
How to avoid being scammed?
Cybersecurity knowledge and media literacy can help you avoid falling in the traps of scammers. However for a start, It is important to be able to identify suspicious messages. Here are some clues to determine whether the message can be trusted:
- Typos or grammatical mistakes
- Asking you to tap on a link, activate a new feature through a link, or download an app
- Asking you to share your personal information, like credit card or bank account numbers, birth date, or passwords
- Asking you to forward a message
- Asking for money or claiming that you have to pay to use WhatsApp
- The message is about the lottery, gambling, a job, an investment, or a loan
- The person starts chatting with you to gain your trust before asking for personal information
It is pertinent to note that you should not click on any unknown link, under any circumstances. Also, Users should not share an OTP under any circumstances. Even if you ever share OTP, keep in mind what it is for. Your own caution determines whether you are safe on Whatsapp.