Jakarta, IO – The Communications and Information Ministry (Kominfo) revealed several fraudulent methods to drain victims’ accounts via the WhatsApp application. The most common method used by the fraudsters is to provide files that must be downloaded in apk format.
Kominfo Informatics applications (Aptika) Semuel Abrijani Pangerapan explained that in carrying out their actions, the fraudsters will create fake accounts in the names of other people or from third parties. Once the account is created, the person will be given the money and the account will be held by the fraudster, per CNBC Indonesia, Saturday (9/9).
“They used other people to register, after that they gave wages and they took their bank account,” said Semuel.
Semuel explained several modes of fraud to attract victims. The most common one is to offer tempting items or gifts. In fact, the offer can sound too good to be true, such as offering a cellphone at a price much cheaper than the market price.
“Don’t be fooled by unreasonable offers, the price of a cellphone was Rp10 million, but I could get it for Rp2 million. It’s definitely a scam,” he said.
The message was definitely sent from an unknown person. Apart from WhatsApp, fraudsters can also use SMS to send the apk. According to Semuel, the most frequent case is digital invitations that appear suddenly.
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“An example is an invitation, the one who sent the invitation is not known, the one who is getting married is not known. People just click happily,” he said.
Lastly, fraudsters will really look to exploit their victims’ weaknesses using the so-called ‘social engineering’. Semuel advised the public not be easily fooled because many have fallen victim to these methods. (bp)