A sophisticated WhatsApp scam has surfaced in India which is exploiting individuals by impersonating US-based employers. The scammers are using fake phone numbers which use area codes of some prominent US states. These scamsters are assuming the roles of influential figures within prominent US companies. The fake positions can range from supervisors to corporate executives.
According to a report by IANS, victims associated with a media company received multiple international calls. The callers often posed as high-ranking executives. The victims were then looped into luring conversations for their personal info. Even if the victim did not pick up the phone, suspecting a scam, they will get texts containing messages such as "Reply to me when you see this. Thanks." The idea is to make it sound urgent and important.
These messages and calls are crafted in a way that the user ends up thinking that the call is coming from an American company. The phone numbers were found to have area codes such as +1 (404) for Atlanta, Georgia, and +1 (773) for Chicago, Illinois.
The new reports about the spam come months after there was a surge in spam sourced from international numbers. The previous wave of spam happened using area codes of countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Ethiopia. However, it is not certain that the caller is based in any of these countries.
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WhatsApp users as well as users of other prominent messaging apps like Telegram are at a constant risk of financial loss and personal data compromise due to these scams. WhatsApp remains a favourite for these scamsters due to its incredible reach with over 500 million users across the country.
Users have been advised to exercise extreme caution before divulging any kind of personal information. The users can also activate two-factor authentication (2FA), and report instances of spam. Caution is also advised when utilizing public Wi-Fi networks, particularly for sensitive transactions.
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