WhatsApp account hacking, leading to breach of privacy and leak of important data or even money from your account has become a common occurrence these days.
Now a new way fraudsters have devised to dupe people is by asking them to dial a certain number. Ahmedabad cyber cell apprehended one MD Rizwan, also known as Mohammed Danish Mansuri, 27, from Jamshedpur in Jharkhand conning people in a similar way.
The police warned people against receiving calls from a delivery boy asking for dialling a specific number for parcel verification.
“Mansuri, pretending to be a delivery boy, would call the targets and instruct them to press 9, then 3 and #, and then a number he provided. This action caused their calls to be forwarded to his number. To access WhatsApp OTPs, he would phone the targets again, sending them a link under the guise of parcel information and delivery dates,” a police official said, detailing the modus operandi of the accused.
“By clicking the link, victims inadvertently allowed him to download their WhatsApp. Mansuri then used their forwarded number to verify WhatsApp on his device. He exploited this to send messages and extort money,” he added.
The scam surfaced when a businessman reported to the cybercrime unit. Police traced the number to Jamshedpur. Though the accused initially escaped, persistent surveillance by Gujarat police eventually led to his capture. Mansuri had been operating this scam for around a year and a half. Numerous people across various states might have fallen prey to his ploy, police believe.
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