Nowadays, fraudsters have started tricking people by messaging them with different numbers on WhatsApp, posing as friends and relatives. So if you ever see a known person asking for money by messaging from a different number, then definitely verify that person's identity. Because, recently, a 28-year-old youth named Himanshu Rawat was a victim of such a fraud.
In fact, Himanshu Rawat, a resident of Unnao district in Uttar Pradesh's capital Lucknow, said fraudsters used his profile photo to send WhatsApp messages to four of his college friends asking them to send money. And, the incident came to light when one of Himanshu's friends called him and told him that someone had used Himanshu's profile photo to message him and ask him to send Rs 2,000. However, suspiciously, Himanshu's friend asks for the UPI ID and finds that it is of a person named Abhishek. Then she becomes convinced that she is being cheated and immediately calls Himanshu to tell the whole story.
Also, Himanshu's other friends also contacted him and informed him. And then Himanshu advised everyone to be careful with a status on his social media account. He also called the 1930 toll free number of the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India and later filed a complaint on the Ministry of Home Affairs' National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
How to protect yourself from cyber fraud?
- Be careful when sharing contact details online.
- If someone asks for personal and sensitive information via call, email or text message, be alert immediately.
- Never click on a link in a message from an unknown source or download anything from an unknown source.
- Use strong passwords.
- Enable multi-factor authentication.
- Use encryption and biometric authentication to protect sensitive data.
