Have you received WhatsApp messages from friends, acquaintances or relatives, asking for cash? They are fake, the Sharjah Police have affirmed. They are sent out by cyber criminals after gaining access to your friends' contact lists.

They gain access to WhatsApp accounts because unsuspecting residents are gullible enough to share their personal data like credit card details, usernames and passwords.

A police official said that criminals would pretend to be employees of telecom companies or major department store chains and send messages to residents, informing them they had won 'grand prizes'. To 'claim the prize', residents were asked to send activation codes of WhatsApp account verification codes. Once this was submitted, the cyber criminals would get access to the resident's contact list and send the fake appeal for cash.

Captain Mohsin Mohammed, director of the IT department, Sharjah Police, said they have received a "large number of complaints" from residents who were cheated after they responded to such messages.

"The police have dealt with many such cases and managed to track down cyber thieves who impersonated employees of telecom companies and hypermarket chains," said Captain Mohammed.

Colonel Ibrahim Musabah Al Ajil, director of the criminal investigations department, said crime methods are constantly evolving as technology advances.

SOURCE : KHALEEJTIMES