At Least 237 Victims Fall For Phishing Scam Involving Fake WhatsApp Web Pages
Since the start of November, at least 237 victims have fallen for a scam involving fake Whatsapp Web pages.
The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said on 13 Nov that the victims have lost over S$606,000 to these scams.
They have urged members of the public to adopt security measures such as enabling the messaging app’s two-step verification feature.
Scam using fake Whatsapp Web pages claims at least 237 victims
According to The Straits Times (ST), SPF released a statement on 13 Nov revealing further details of the phishing scam.
At least 237 victims have been affected since the start of November, with total losses coming up to about S$606,000.
The cases would involve users clicking on unverified URL links when trying to sign in via WhatsApp Web.
After gaining control of unsuspecting victims’ WhatsApp accounts, the scammers would proceed to contact their family or friends.
Scammers would request money for medical emergencies
Typical claims from scammers included needing money to pay for urgent purchases. In other incidents, they’d claim they had to help a friend or relative experiencing financial distress.
There were times when the scammers would request money to pay off bills for medical emergencies. They’d also claim their bank accounts were restricted after they exceeded transfer limits.
Source: Asterfolio on Unsplash for illustration purposes only
In some cases, scammers would ask contacts to send a screenshot of the transfer to request more funds later.
They would then ask the contacts to transfer the money to an unfamiliar bank account or a PayNow number that would appear to belong to the owner of the compromised WhatsApp account.
“Victims would realise they had been scammed after contacting or being contacted by their family or friends who claim not to have received any monies,” SPF said.
Public should adopt security measures
The police have thus advised members of the public to adopt security measures, which would include the following:
- Enabling WhatsApp’s two-step verification feature
- Only using WhatsApp Web’s official website
- Being wary after receiving unusual requests on WhatsApp
- Refraining from sharing WhatsApp account verification codes
- Checking linked devices on WhatsApp regularly
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit Scam Alert.
In addition, they can call the Anti-Scam Helpline at 1800-722-6688.
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Featured image adapted from Dimitri Karastelev on Unsplash, for illustration purposes only.
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