RCIPS warns WhatsApp users of take-over scam

(CNS): The police and the Cayman Islands Government Information Security Office are warning WhatsApp users of a scam that enables the perpetrators to take over the victim’s account. The scammer can then send messages to any of their contacts, purporting to be the victim, until the account can be recovered.

The scammers can take over their victim’s account by sending an SMS text message or a WhatsApp message or the victim receives a phone call from an unknown mobile number or purporting to be somebody that is known to the victim.

The RCIPS noted that there have been reports of scammers using deep-fake audio — artificial intelligence to imitate a person’s spoken voice.

The message received by the victim is designed to be deliberately alarmist and says it requires immediate action, which is for the user to provide their WhatsApp six-digit verification code. Once the scammer has this, they can take over the account, pretend to be the victim and send messages to the victim’s contact for the purpose of deception and fraud.

The RCIPS said that, despite previous advisories, people are still becoming victims of this scam.

WhatsApp users are urged to remain vigilant to this scam and to never generate and send their WhatsApp six-digit code to anyone. Users who receive a message that appears to be suspicious should never respond, open any attachments or click on any link contained within the message.