Police warn public against WhatsApp account scams

The police have warned members of the public to be vigilant against a scam variant that targets access to victims' WhatsApp accounts.

In an advisory issued on Thursday (March 12), the police said that such cases begin when a scammer attempts to log into the victims' WhatsApp accounts by entering their mobile numbers and requesting for a WhatsApp verification one-time password (OTP).

Victims would then receive an SMS containing the OTP, and scammers would also send them WhatsApp messages from known contacts whose WhatsApp accounts have already been compromised.

The victims would be asked to provide the OTP under the pretext that the code was actually intended for the known contacts but had been mistakenly sent to them. 

Scammers would then use the OTP to access the victims' WhatsApp accounts and log the victims out.

The same process would be repeated with the victims' contacts, and victims would only realise that their WhatsApp accounts have been compromised when they are logged out or when their contacts inform them of the unusual OTP requests.

The police said that there have not been any losses reported so far, but advised the public to avoid sharing sensitive information such as OTPs with others.

To secure their WhatsApp accounts, members of the public should remove unknown devices linked to their WhatsApp accounts and enable the 'two-step verification' feature on their WhatsApp accounts.

Members of the public are also advised to take precautions to avoid falling for scams by using the ACT (Add, Check, Tell) framework, which involves adding the ScamShield app, checking for scam signs, and telling authorities, family and friends about suspected scams.

Additionally, members of the public can call the 24/7 ScamShield Helpline at 1799 if in doubt.

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dana.leong@asiaone.com