WhatsApp and Instagram scam

How it works

A message, often from a friend's real account that has already been taken over, says a six-digit code was sent to you by mistake and asks you to forward it. The code is the login code for your own account, and once you share it the scammer messages your contacts asking for money.

Red flags

• !Someone asks you to forward a code that just arrived by SMS.
• !A friend or relative messages from a new number asking for money urgently.
• !They say they cannot talk on a call right now.
• !A link promising to “verify” your account or win a vote for a friend.
• !The writing style is not how that person normally writes.

Example

The code is the key to your own account. Your friend’s account has already been taken over.

This is an illustration of the pattern, not a copy of a real message. Real ones vary in wording.

What to do

1. 01Do not share the code with anyone, whoever asks.
2. 02Ring the person on a normal phone call before sending money or codes.
3. 03Turn on two-step verification in WhatsApp and two-factor authentication in Instagram.
4. 04If your account was taken over, re-register with your own number to get it back, and warn your contacts.
5. 05If you sent money, call 1930 immediately.

Where to report

• Report inside the app

  Open the chat or profile, choose Report, and block the account.

• Call 1930

  The national cyber-fraud helpline. If money has left your account, call straight away — the sooner it is reported, the better the chance of the money being frozen.

  Call 1930

• National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal

  File a complaint online at cybercrime.gov.in. Keep the acknowledgement number it gives you.

  Open cybercrime.gov.in

• Sanchar Saathi (Chakshu)

  Report the suspicious call, SMS or WhatsApp number to the Department of Telecommunications, even if you lost nothing.

  Open sancharsaathi.gov.in