Hong Kong police are warning residents to remain vigilant for on-line fraudsters hijacking WhatsApp accounts and utilizing them to dupe folks on customers’ contact lists, with greater than 130 folks falling sufferer to such rip-off in a single week.
The pressure issued an alert on its CyberDefender Fb web page on Monday, noting that 131 scams involving the messaging platform had led to a mixed lack of greater than HK$1.7 million (US$217,300) final week.
“Typically, the victims acquired WhatsApp messages from scammers posing as their kin or mates, who claimed there was an pressing want for cash resulting from emergencies. The victims had been requested to switch the cash as quickly as doable,” police stated.
Victims often realised it was a con once they spoke to the actual account customers after sending over the cash, the pressure stated.
In line with police, swindlers sometimes despatched phishing textual content messages with hyperlinks to pretend web sites and employed totally different excuses to trick WhatsApp customers into revealing their account verification codes.
Scammers then entry the accounts and pose because the customers to dupe these on the latter’s contact checklist.
Swindlers may additionally acquire entry to a person’s account if the sufferer scanned a QR code on the web page, which might join it with the swindler’s machine and permit them to rip-off their contacts, the pressure stated.
“For those who obtain a textual content message asking for cash or a financial institution switch request from mates or kin, please keep in mind to name and make sure first,” police stated.
Final 12 months, fraudsters created rip-off web sites disguised as login pages for the WhatsApp message platform.
Police figures present a major rise within the theft of on-line accounts, with 3,434 reviews final 12 months in comparison with 168 circumstances logged in 2022. Many of the circumstances concerned WhatsApp accounts.
Monetary losses concerned elevated to HK$87.6 million in 2023 from HK$73.8 million the 12 months earlier than.
Hong Kong IT safety agency ‘saved from HK$5 million electronic mail rip-off by financial institution worker’
Hong Kong IT safety agency ‘saved from HK$5 million electronic mail rip-off by financial institution worker’
WhatsApp scams first got here to the eye of police in November 2017 when fewer than 10 circumstances had been reported within the metropolis.
A surge in circumstances later prompted police to warn the general public the 12 months after, advising WhatsApp customers to arrange a two-step verification course of on their accounts.
The pressure advised the general public on Tuesday to “keep away from disclosing passwords and verification codes casually or scanning QR codes with out verifying”.
Police additionally urged folks to make use of the pressure’s “Scameter” search engine, accessible by way of the CyberDefender web site, to test for suspicious or fraudulent exercise.
The search engine can assist establish suspicious internet addresses, emails, platform usernames, financial institution accounts, cell phone numbers and IP addresses.
The town recorded a 42.6 per cent improve in all forms of deception to 39,824 circumstances final 12 months from 27,923 reviews logged in 2022. The quantity misplaced rose by 89 per cent to HK$9.1 billion in 2023 from HK$4.8 billion the 12 months earlier than.