Inspector General of Police Kashmir Vijay Kumar on Wednesday advised general public to remain cautious and follow precautionary measures to deal with fraudsters using fake WhatsApp display picture to impersonate as high profile government officers or dignitaries.
In an advisory issued over the matter, IGP Kashmir said that the fraudsters procure photo of the government officers from open source internet and create whatsapp account on virtual number or on fake SIM card.
The fraudsters later upload the officer’ photo as display picture on the whatsapp number and sends message to people demanding financial or administrative favours and ask users to transfer money or purchase online gift vouchers the advisory reads.
Police asked people not to reply to the messages received from unknown Whatsapp users, transfer money or purchase online gift vouchers or share banking details like Credit card/Debit Card , OTP, CW No. or any password. People have also been advised against installing any remote access app or click on any suspicious link. They have been advised also to secure whatsapp account by enabling two factor verification available in whatsapp settings.
