The Kolkata Police cyber cell has an important warning for WhatsApp users.The police issued the advisory after complaints from a student and businessman in the city.Incidentally, this cyber fraud started with impersonation on Facebook.These cybercriminals appear to have hacked victims’ Facebook profiles and contacted the people on their friends’ lists through Messenger.In these cases, scammers tried to dupe users’ contacts on the pretext of running yoga classes.Incidentally, the city saw multiple such scams being reported around the World Yoga Day on June 21.The fraudsters contact people in victims’ contact list asking them to join yoga classes being organised by them.A link is sent and the recipient is asked to click.
On clicking the link, the contacts are asked to share a six-digit OTP code.
“Once the link is clicked and the OTP shared, the accused can use the WhatsApp number from another phone,” said an investigating officer.As this OTP is actually a WhatsApp verification code.WhatsApp accounts are linked to one phone number on one device.When hackers try to link them on to their own, they try to get it done through a verification code.By sharing this code with fraudsters, users lose access to their WhatsApp account.
In this particular modus operandi, the scammers used yoga classes as a pretext to get the code.They request the victim to tell them the code or forward it to them in order to join classes.The code is not a normal OTP but actually the WhatsApp verification code.
The criminals then impersonate the victim, request money from their contacts (usually for an emergency but always on the promise of being repaid).They can also use the hacked account for criminal activities.In some such cases, the investigators said that the accused then extorted their victims to invest in crypto-currency to get back access to their WhatsApp account.Kolkata Police recently warned netizens about these kinds of hacks through its Facebook page.
“WhatsApp Getting Hacked! If you receive this kind of message and if any person on your WhatsApp contacts list (even if known) asks you to forward the same, please don’t do so.Fraudsters are using this to take control of your WhatsApp account.We have received a few such complaints and seek your cooperation,” it said, sharing a screenshot of the fraud message where a WhatsApp code apparently is asked to be shared.”} Best Premium Smartwatches 2023 4 Apple Watch SE Cellular 22,000 VIEW SPECIFICATIONS 4.5 Apple Watch Ultra 89,900 VIEW SPECIFICATIONS 4 Apple Watch Series 8 45,900 VIEW SPECIFICATIONS Trending Gadgets Nothing Phone 2 Samsung Galaxy M34 OnePlus Nord 3 Lava Agni 2 5G Poco F5 Pro Samsung Galaxy A14 5G Motorola Edge 40 Poco F5 Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Trending Topics iPhone 15 Pro WiFi 6E Marvel Spider Man 2 PS5 Marvel Spider Man 2 Trailer WhatsApp Silence Unknown Callers Swiggy AI Chatbot Twitter Hiring Feature MacOS Spring Loaded Folders Meta Llama 2 BGMI Ocean Friends Crate Instagram Reels Templates Trending Stories 8 8 tips Amazon wants online shoppers to follow for identifying scams and keeping their account safe Got a pet, here are four tips from Google that can help you manage them better Reliance partners Brookfield Infrastructure and Digital Realty for India data center business iPhone 15 Pro models may get Wi-Fi 6E connectivity: What it means for users Sony announces PlayStation 5 Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Limited Edition bundle Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 trailer gives a look at two Spider-Men, Venom, and other villains Microsoft wins big in Call of Duty deal with Activision: Here’s what it means How to get started using the Maybelline app in Teams How to set up or update your Netflix Household Brands Mobiles View More Move to Top About Us Contact Us RSS Return Policy Newsletter Sitemap Privacy policy Do Not Sell Data Cookie Policy Terms of Use and Grievance Redressal Policy Refund Policy Authors FOLLOW US ON Popular Mobile Phones OnePlus Nord CE 5G Vivo Y21T Vivo T1X iPhone 13 Jio Phone Next Realme GT Neo 2T Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra Vivo V19 Samsung Galaxy S20 Samsung Galaxy 20 Ultra Trending How to How to enable two-factor authentication on Instagram How to lock individual chats in WhatsApp How to Edit Sent Messages on WhatsApp How to Save Instagram Stories to Phone How to Send Confidential E-mail on Gmail How to Clear Cache and Cookies on Android How to Manage Apple ID How to Manage LinkedIn Feed Preferences How to use WhatsApp on Multiple Devices How to improve video quality in Google Meet Mobile Phones Oppo Mobiles Vivo Mobiles Samsung Mobiles Xiaomi Mobiles RealMe Mobiles OnePlus Mobiles Honor Mobiles Huawei Mobiles iPhones Nokia Mobiles Popular Categories 5G Mobile Phones Dual Sim Mobile Phone Compare Mobile Phone Top Gadgets 2023 Upcoming Mobiles Recharge Plans Trending Topics Apple Mac mini (M2) review Garmin Forerunner 265 review Samsung Galaxy S23 review Hide Instagram stories Google Play Store Uber forgotten items Road To Valor Empires Copyright © 2023 Bennett, Coleman & Co.
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