ISLAMABAD: Mobile phone users in Pakistan have been warned about a new WhatsApp scam in which fraudsters impersonate courier company representatives and attempt to take control of victims’ accounts.
According to reports, the scam involves calling the users, especially women, and telling them that there is a parcel for them to receive and a verification code or one-time password (OTP) has been sent to their phone.
Then, the scammer tries to obtain the OTP sent to the victim through WhatsApp.
Once they have the OTP, the scammer can use the WhatsApp account from his mobile phone.
Secondly, once they get hold of the WhatsApp account, they impersonate as the owner of the account and start contacting the people he knows.
The scammers ask for money from their contacts, citing the fact that they are in dire need of money.
In this regard, the PTA has sent out a warning to people about not sharing WhatsApp one time password (OTP).
People were further requested to verify the identity of the callers if they call about the delivery of parcels.
The PTA also highlighted that the cyber criminals can pretend to be from banks, mobile phone providers, courier companies or even government bodies in order to trick individuals into providing confidential data.
Users have been advised to be very careful regarding unsolicited calls requesting verification code from them especially when the caller is creating an atmosphere of emergency.
