Every day newinstances of online scams are getting revealed. The trend to steal from peopleonline has increased manifold and WhatsApp users are being targetedspecifically because of the app's popularity. This gives scammers theopportunity to go after a massive number of users at the same time. Now, thelatest scam targeting WhatsApp users looks to dupe them of money in their bankaccounts. This scam, that was revealed by Russian security researchers atKaspersky, is all about package deliveries from companies. Now, over the last 2years, ever since the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world and lockdowns wereimposed, everyone took to ordering products online. From medicines, food,furniture, electronic items to everything else, the trend to buy online hasskyrocketed. No one wanted to leave their house and use cash as it carried alot of risk. That mass population which is buying online is what cybercriminalsare targeting.
Now, the latest scamtargeting WhatsApp users has come to the fore. Revealed by Russian securityresearchers at Kaspersky, this scam is all about package deliveries fromcompanies. The world was forced to go into lockdown in the last two years dueto the COVID-19 pandemic. This resulted in dependency on online deliverieswhich skyrocketed. Cybercriminals started targeting these online buyers.
The process whichscammers follow is that they send WhatsApp messages to users portrayingthemselves as delivery companies and then they tell the user that a packageneeds to be delivered to the address. They will eventually ask you to click onthe links to complete the process or try to make a small payment instead.
"Unexpectedparcels requiring payment by the recipient remained one of the most commontricks this past quarter. The reason for the invoice from the 'mail company'could be anything from customs duties to shipment costs. When trying to pay forthe service, as with compensation fraud, victims were taken to a fake website,where they risked not only losing the amount itself (which could be far higherthan specified in the email) but also spilling their bank card details,”Kaspersky lab said.
When the user clickson the link, he is taken to a fake website where he is asked to enter his bankdetails to make the small payment. This happens if the customer does notremember anything about his online orders.
In effect, the safetyof users' money lies very much in their own hands. They must never click ondodgy links (always check who it is from) and above all, even if they land onsome website that looks like it belongs to some big social media company orbank, do not insert your usernames or passwords. And above all, do not provideyour debit card details, especially the CVV number on any suspicious website.