After receiving complaints from a student and a businessman in the city, the Kolkata Police cyber unit issued a warning to WhatsApp and Facebook users.
Cybercriminals are hijacking users’ Facebook pages and using Messenger to communicate with people on their friend lists.
Scammers attempt to contact individuals by claiming that he teaches Yoga courses.
On the occasion of World Yoga Day on 21 June, Kolkata witnessed multiple such scams.
The means by which fraud occurs.
The scammers contact the victims’ contact lists and invite them to Yoga lessons that they have booked.
The contacts are provided a link and requested to click on it to share the six-digit OTP. When they do the same, the accused will be able to access their WhatsApp from many devices.
WhatsApp’s verification code was the OTP. The user loses access to their WhatsApp account after sharing the code with the scammer.
Why have scammers gained access to WhatsApp accounts?
The fraudster then poses as a victim and requests financial assistance from the victim’s contact with the promise of repayment.
In some circumstances, the fraudsters request that the victim invest in Bitcoin in order to regain access to their WhatsApp account.
Through their Facebook page, Kolkata police warned WhatsApp and Facebook users to be wary of such frauds and scams.
