MCA warns of new Whatsapp scam disguised as wedding invitation

The Star

Scammers are using malicious links disguised as wedding invitations to steal contact numbers to dupe unsuspecting victims into sending them money, says MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head Datuk Seri Michael Chong.  Read more at https://tinyurl.com/57vuvw7m  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00And I tell you one thing, this something is not new. It's already happened many, many times.

00:06Scammers are circulating malicious links disguised as wedding invitations to steal contact lists

00:11and trick unsuspecting victims into transferring money to them.

00:15At a press conference on Tuesday, MCA Public Services and Complaints Department head,

00:21Datuk Sri Michael Chong, said the case came to light after he received a wedding invitation message

00:26from a number belonging to Strata Owners Association Malaysia President, Datuk Thengbuk.

00:32Chong said he nearly clicked the link before a mutual friend warned him that Theng's WhatsApp had been compromised.

00:39So this is one of the motor-sapprendi which they, this, what you call the hacker target.

00:48So once you press the thing, there will be a lot of things inside.

00:51Another thing is that if you don't ignore it, they will so send something like a reminder.

00:57They're using various types of tactics to make sure you open the thing.

01:02Book, who attended the press conference, said he was locked out of his WhatsApp account

01:06after clicking on a similar link that was sent to him by a retired policeman.

01:11Once I open it, what they do is, this guy will take control of my WhatsApp.

01:18Completely, you cannot go in anymore.

01:21He take over the WhatsApp, he operate.

01:24And he operate, there are two types of, the way he operate are two types.

01:28One is, if they know you, they continue to give this and let you open.

01:33The other one is, they want to borrow money.

01:36He's using my WhatsApp to broadcast.

01:38So those people who, once they do it, they control the WhatsApp, they push out the message,

01:43they try to call back the WhatsApp.

01:45Actually, WhatsApp is controlled by him already.

01:46They want to make use of your contacts.

01:49So what they do is, I want to borrow money to transfer to my friend because my bank account cannot transfer.

01:54Can you please transfer?

01:56Then a lot of people say, I will promise to pay you tomorrow morning.

02:00Then people say, how much?

02:02It starts with $3,000.

02:03Once you respond, you will say $3,000.

02:06If you say too much, you have $2,000.

02:08Bug in.

02:08He said he eventually had to reformat his phone to regain access after 24 hours and noted that only direct phone calls were still going through.

02:17So a lot of people call me to a handphone, manage to get me.

02:20He said, your WhatsApp has been hacked.

02:23So what they do, I have to take precaution.

02:25So I have to complain to WhatsApp and WhatsApp takes 24 hours to ratify.

02:31So I have to go and reformat my telephone.

02:35OK, I have to go and change my card.

02:37Chong added that scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated

02:40and now target well-known individuals to exploit their extensive contact lists.

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