PDRM Warns Public Of New Scams Targeting To Take Over WhatsApp Accounts

Times are hard now and there is an increasing number of scams nowadays.

The PDRM commercial crime division has shared news of two variants of a scam involving the use of WhatsApp. This post was initially posted on the Singapore Police Force’s Facebook page.

In the post, they said that the usual modus operandi would involve a “close friend” or “family member” who will reach out to the victim and say that their accounts have been compromised. They will ask the victim to send a 6-digit verification code and the victim will lose access to their own account.

However, this method has been tweaked and there are now two new ways the scam will take place:

1. The scammer will pretend to be part of the support staff from WhatsApp and they will say that your account has been reported. They will then say that you need to verify your WhatsApp account by telling them the 6-digit verification code sent to you. Once you’ve handed over this information, you will lose access to your account.
2. In another variant, the scammer will attempt to login into your account multiple times which will bring up the option of “voice verification” where WhatsApp will call your number. When you ignore the call or if your phone is switched off, it will go into voicemail where the scammer can access your account using the default PIN used by telco service providers.

To prevent this from happening to you, you can adopt the following steps:

• Never share the 6-number verification code with ANYONE.
• Be wary when anonymous numbers/your contacts start having weird requests.
• Enable “Two-Step Verification” (Settings –> Account –> Two-step verification –> Enable).
• Change your voicemail pin.

Please take note of these and share this so that your friends and family will not fall victim to these scams. 

Also read: Scam Alert! Malaysian Receives Fabricated Consignment Note For Non-existent Parcel