Be careful of this dangerous scam: here’s what it consists of in detail and how to best protect yourself so as not to get robbed.
Scams, nowadays, are a significant problem. Recognize them, especially with sophisticated tools available to criminalshas become increasingly difficult, but not impossible. The key remains, in fact, being informed. This allows you to defend yourself as best as possible, should it happen.
Recently, there have been reports of new cases of phishing that are causing a whole series of serious problems. This involves the theft of many Whatsapp profiles. A subtle scam, engineered by cyber criminals, which exploits the relationship between friends and acquaintances. The State Police has provided more details on this deception, which is particularly affecting the city of Aosta.
Scholarship scam: how to recognize it and best defend yourself
As reported by the official website of the State Police, cyber criminals have implemented a very well-studied and highly dangerous scam, which you should absolutely beware of.
It all begins with the unfortunate person who receives a message on WhatsApp, apparently from a friend or a contact in whom the person places trust. The message contains an invitation to take part in a survey with a promise that may appeal: a scholarship. In the text message it is written: «HI! Please vote for Federica in this poll, she is the daughter of a friend of mine».
Now, when the user decides to click on the link in the message, they end up on a web page asking to enter their mobile number. After that, the unfortunate person always receives a code via SMS and is encouraged to copy it on the page. If the user carries out the procedure, he ends up losing control of his WhatsApp account which is stolen from him.
Once they have achieved their goal, scammers use the stolen account to send other deceptive messages to the user’s contacts. To prevent the criminal plans of criminals from coming to fruition and spreading like wildfire, the Police recommend do not click on the link sent or share codes received via SMS on sites that have nothing official.
It is important to always check who the messages really come from, especially if there are anomalous requests. There are no official bodies that ask for personal codes via links on messaging apps.
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