ALERT: SAPS warns of new WhatsApp scam
Lots of people are getting scammed on WhatsApp... be careful out there!
The South African Police Service (SAPS) have issued a statement to warn the public about how WhatsApp is now being used as a tool to scam people.
People send fake messages in the hope that the receiver answers them and does what they request. The result of that would be that their social media accounts are 'hijacked'.
The public is being asked by SAPS to just block and report any message which asks you to send a six-digit code. That is the typical scammer's first message.
An example of such a message would be the following: “Hello, I'm sorry, I sent you a six-digit code by SMS by accident. Please send it to me as soon as possible."
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That type of message is very dangerous and can lead to you giving out your personal information to the wrong people. SAPS have warned the public to be on the lookout for such messages.
#sapsHINT [SCAM ALERT] There are constantly new scams. Always be sceptical, never share any personal info with anyone. A new WhatsApp scam is making the rounds where scammers are hijacking people’s WhatsApp accounts. Keep your WhatsApp account safe. MEhttps://t.co/lHQJqUiWwL pic.twitter.com/jaWgCUJDhs
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) June 22, 2022
Unfortunately, there have been people who have fallen victim to such scams via WhatsApp. People must be alert and know about how to avoid such measures of scamming.
Read more: WARNING: You will get jail time or fined if you send these sorts of messages on WhatsApp
Under no circumstances should a cellphone user ever share a code with a number they don't know or recognise. Users have been asked to block and report the SMS request number as part of a hijacking scam.
