Singapore police warn of scams involving takeover of WhatsApp accounts
SINGAPORE — A scam involving the takeover of WhatsApp accounts has resurfaced, the police warned on Wednesday (10 July).
Victims typically receive a WhatsApp message from a friend, whose WhatsApp account has been compromised. The message would typically request the victims to send over a 6-digit verification code sent to them.
The victims would thereafter lose access to their WhatsApp account after providing the scammers with the code.
The police have advised members of the public:
Do not share their account verification codes with anyone;
Beware of unusual requests received over WhatsApp, even if they were sent by their WhatsApp contacts;
Always call their friend to verify the authenticity of the request, but do not do so through the social media platform, as the account might have been taken over by scammers
Protect their WhatsApp account by enabling the ‘Two-Step Verification’ feature, which is available under ‘Account’ in the ‘Settings’ tab of the WhatsApp application.This will prevent others from compromising the WhatsApp account;
In the event that their WhatsApp accounts have been taken over by a scammer, they can recover the account by signing into WhatsApp using their phone numbers and authenticate by entering the verification PIN which they will receive on their phones.The scammer using their accounts will automatically be logged out thereafter.
If the public wish to provide any information related to such scams, call the police hotline at 1800-255-0000, or submit it online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness.
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