Over the past week, law enforcement agencies received 28 reports of WhatsApp account hijacking scams, resulting in total losses exceeding HK$650,000, with the highest single case loss reaching HK$140,000. After hijacking WhatsApp accounts, scammers impersonate different individuals and craft tailored pretexts to lure victims.
In one case, a 53-year-old woman received a WhatsApp message from someone impersonating her husband. She urgently needed to borrow money, so she transferred money to the person. Her husband only realized he had been scammed when he notified her that his WhatsApp account had been hijacked, resulting in a loss of over HK$130,000. Separately, a 30-year-old male tenant received a message impersonating the landlord, asking him to pay three months' rent in advance, promising a HK$3,000 discount. After the tenant transferred the money, he contacted the landlord and learned the account had been hijacked, leaving him with a loss of over HK$40,000.
Original URL: on.cc
