Over 80 victims lose $625k to malware scams involving phishing links sent via WhatsApp
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Malware scams involving phishing links sent through messaging platform WhatsApp have led to at least $625,000 in losses since last December. Giving the figures in a news release on Friday (Jan 10), the Singapore Police Force said at least 82 cases of such sOver 80 victims lose $625k to malware scams involving phishing links sent via WhatsApp
Malware scams involving phishing links sent through messaging platform WhatsApp have led to at least $625,000 in losses since last December. Giving the figures in a news release on Friday (Jan 10), the Singapore Police Force said at least 82 cases of such scams have been reported. The victims fell into a recent type of scam when they responded to fraudulent advertisements promoting travel and cleaning services on Facebook or TikTok. After leaving their contact details to indicate their interest, scammers would contact them through WhatsApp to request for a $5 payment as «membership fee or an upfront deposit» made through a phishing link. The victims would key in their credit or debit card details and encounter payment issues. Scammers would then instruct them to download a malicious application in an Android package kit (APK) file format through WhatsApp to 'resolve' the payment issues. The malware, once downloaded, would allow scammers to steal sensitive information such as SMS one-time passwords. Read more