Maharashtra Cyber Department warns WhatsApp users of a fraud
The Maharashtra Cyber Department has alerted users that Scammers posing as WhatsApp
executives are running a modus operandi of hijacking into WhatsApp accounts. In a tweet on their official profile @MahaCyber1, the Maharashtra Cyber Department states that the hackers
message the users to obtain the six-digit verification code of users and hack into the WhatsApp Account.
After this, the hackers get easy access to personal phone contacts of the users and repeat the
same procedure with other family and friends of the user. They send fake messages for
verification PIN to other contact numbers of family and friends in the hacked user’s phone, and
further hack into their accounts too. These hackers then misuse the pool of personal and private
data of the users, like their intimate photos and chats by sending nude photos, chats, and other
information in the WhatsApp groups of the users to blackmail and extort money.
The warning of a “Modus operandi of WhatsApp hijack” from Maharashtra Cyber Department
comes in the wake of several similar complaints of WhatsApp hacking from Cyber cells of
various other States in India over the past few months. Due to the current Covid-19 situation, usage
of online apps and transactions have increased leading to scammers using it as an opportunity for
fraudulent cybercrime activities.
