After emails, SMS, phone calls, cybercriminals shift focus to WhatsApp

New Delhi: Earlier this week, Paytm Founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma shared a post on X describing how someone tried to impersonate him in a conversation, ironically, with him. While Vijay responded with humor, the reality is far grimmer for many senior citizens who regularly fall prey to such scams. Across India, fraudsters are increasingly targeting elderly individuals on platforms like WhatsApp, posing as family members or friends in urgent need of money.

In one recent case, cybercriminals duped a 63-year-old Mumbai resident of a staggering INR 7.31 crore. The fraudsters reached out through two WhatsApp accounts, offering high returns on stock market investments. When the promised profits failed to materialize, the victim reported the incident to the police. The investigation is still ongoing.

In another incident, a dentist in Kolkata was tricked by a scammer posing as an army officer. The individual claimed they needed to arrange treatment for their father before heading back to duty and insisted on paying in advance. However, the payment link sent by the scammer ended up debiting the doctor’s account instead.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has repeatedly warned the public about the growing menace of organized cybercrime, often run by cross-border syndicates. Press statements from the ministry highlight increasing complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), including cases of intimidation, blackmail, extortion, and "digital arrests"—where fraudsters pretend to be officials from agencies like the Police, CBI, RBI, Narcotics Department, or Enforcement Directorate.

Scams continue to evolve. From emails, SMS, and phone calls, cybercriminals have now shifted focus to WhatsApp, especially since 2022. People report receiving threatening messages about imminent disconnections of electricity, gas, or water services, or messages claiming lottery winnings or emergency financial needs. Many scams now originate from fake international numbers offering part-time jobs or easy money—previously seen via SMS or email.

LocalCircles, a community platform, recently conduct a survey to understand the scale of WhatsApp-related impersonation and fraud. Over 22,000 citizens from 312 districts responded—67% were men and 33% women, with 44% from Tier 1 cities, 33% from Tier 2, and 23% from Tier 3/4 or rural areas.

The survey revealed:

45% received messages claiming they had won a lottery or access to celebrity events, requiring a refundable processing fee.

42% received part-time or work-from-home job offers that required an upfront payment.

42% got threatening messages about utility disconnections.

21% were sent QR codes or links promising rewards or money.

12% experienced impersonation using their image to message their contacts.

12% were targeted in attempts to steal their WhatsApp OTP.

9% received video calls intended to extort money.

6% received fake legal threats urging money transfers.

24% encountered other types of scams.

In a separate question, respondents were asked whether they or a family member had received a message on WhatsApp from someone impersonating a known contact, asking for money, recharge, or gift card purchases. Of the 11,078 responses:

65% said they had never experienced this,

9% had seen it happen once,

19% a few times,

7% several times.

Many of these impersonation cases involve theft of contact lists, use of real profile images, and targeting of people based on geographic location. The findings suggest that 35% of Indian families using WhatsApp have faced such impersonation attempts.

These rising incidents call for urgent government intervention. Recommended measures include stricter identity verification for SIM issuance, easier reporting mechanisms for users to flag fraudulent numbers, inter-telecom data sharing, and the use of AI by platforms like WhatsApp to detect and block scams proactively.

LocalCircles plans to escalate these findings to TRAI, DOT, MEITY, CCPA, and other relevant authorities for action.