Ludhiana police caution against fraud through Whatsapp links

Through links, fraudsters are gaining access to the contact list of the user to dupe their relatives and friends, say police

Having received multiple complaints, the cyber cell has cautioned residents against clicking on Whatsapp links shared by unknown numbers.

Police recommend users should enable two-step verification in Whatsapp for added security. (Representational photo/Bloomberg)

According to the police, fraudsters were sending links via the mobile messaging app to gain access to the users’ contact list and further contact their friends and relatives with messages of urgent requirement of money.

These links could be about anything from offers of lucrative home-based jobs or heavy discounts for gadgets.

In one such case, a city resident reported that after he clicked on one such link, fraudsters duped his relative of ₹4 lakh by asking for money on the pretext of an emergency. They also shared details of a bank account for online transfer of money.

“Using similar modus operandi, fraudsters took ₹1 lakh from the relatives of another resident. People can avoid such scams by simply not clicking on untrusted links,” said inspector Pawan Kumar, in-charge of the Ludhiana police cyber cell.

“For added security, users should enable two-step verification in Whatsapp. Through this, a unique PIN is created, which is required to register the account on a new device, if hackers try to gain access. Besides a reset link is sent to the user’s email address if there is an attempt to change the PIN,” he advised.

He cautioned users against sharing any PIN, OTP or bank details with unknown callers to avoid falling prey to scams.

The cyber cell is currently dealing with at least 1,950 complaints. Most of these, at 830, are with regards to ATM frauds, such as debit card swapping. As many as 450 complaints are regarding online payments, 250 about hacking Facebook and WhatsApp, 300 of fraud via online market places and another 150 about data theft.