PJ warns of WhatsApp hacking, fake Donki Facebook page

In response to related reports, Judiciary Police (PJ) has issued warnings to the public regarding hacked WhatsApp accounts and a sham Facebook page masquerading as that of supermarket Don Don Donki.

The existence of hacked WhatsApp accounts was reported to the PJ. As reported by the victims, the PJ had been made aware that messages had been sent out from these hacked accounts to individuals in affected contact lists in an attempt to obtain loans.

These victims only became aware of the hacking when they were questioned over the phone or in person by their friends and relatives who received messages asking for money.

It was underlined that fraudsters had long been sending out impostor hyperlinks to phish victims. Moreover, it has also been discovered that fraudsters impersonated valid WhatsApp sites and enabled prioritization of the fake links in Google searches.

The PJ have recommend people ensure they use the validated hyperlinks to WhatsApp pages, not click on any suspicious links, and turn on two-way authentication, as well as verify messages with their friends and relatives should they have any concern.

In another case, the PJ proactively discovered a Facebook page simulating that of Don Don Donki. The page pretends to be hosting a raffle and attempts to persuade Facebook users to follow a hyperlink for registration. It claimed that prizes would come in the forms of goodie bags, cash and coupons.

The link would bring users to a website where they were asked to create accounts, during which the provision of personal particulars and credit card information were mandatory.

The PJ reiterated that exceptional caution must be exercised whenever personal and credit card data are requested by any websites. AL