Beware of scams involving takeover of WhatsApp accounts
At least 90 people have fallen prey to scams involving compromised WhatsApp accounts.
In a statement issued yesterday, the police remind the public to be on the alert due to a resurgence of such scams involving the takeover of WhatsApp accounts.
Victims would receive a WhatsApp message from someone in their contact list whose WhatsApp account has been compromised, requesting the victims to send over a six-digit verification code that was sent to them via short message service.
The victims then lost access to their WhatsApp account after telling the scammer the verification code.
Scammers have been known to use the compromised accounts to deceive unsuspecting victims into performing monetary transfers, sending over Money Online points, purchasing gift cards and sending over the passwords for the cards. These gift cards would then be sold online.
The public is advised to beware of unusual requests received over WhatApp, even if from their contacts.
They should call their friends to verify the authenticity of the requests.
Also, WhatsApp accounts should be protected by enabling the two-step verification feature. - SERAFINA BASCIANO
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