The Investigative Police (PDI) issued a alert about a new phone scam which involves calls and the WhatsApp messaging application.
Until now, thousands of affected users have already registered through this new form of scam, which directly involves a phone call to a person, where Both the user’s personal information and the data stored in the messaging application are put at risk.
“I have something to tell you, add me to WhatsApp”, with a female voice and without giving time for a response, the call is cut off.
According to information, the number that makes the call is from a number registered in Chile, which contains the prefix ‘+569′.
Although, according to PDI, no complaints have yet been registered for this type of action, the entity mentions that this new act by malicious people It has all the characteristics of being a new scam.
In addition, hundreds of people have spoken out through social networks, telling their experiences of how they almost fell into this so-called telephone scam.
Along with this, the inspector of the PDI Economic Crimes Investigative Brigade, Samuel Inzunza; yesand referred to in La Tercera about this new scam mechanism that can affect users of messaging applications.
“What they indicate is something brief, that tries to move or put a difficult situation. The receiver sometimes is not even waiting for a call. The issuer, on the other hand, does not provide further details, names, or anything. So that’s for us. It is a possible fraud”.
“What we always see is that in these telephone scams there is a chain of processes that begin with a call and that call is where the money is delivered. misleading speech, that attempts to sensitize or embarrass the recipient and then give a series of instructions.”
Recommendations against possible scams
Faced with the increase in scams involving one of the most important messaging systems in the world, Samuel Inzunza delivered rRecommendations on how to act correctly to avoid the theft of personal and sensitive information for citizens.
“What we ask is that whenever the person receives this type of calls, fail to do any action they are being instructed to do, how to call back or write to them on WhatsAppbecause this involves the recipient more in this discourse.”
Also, the open links or web pages from unknown sites that are not usually frequented, there is also the risk of a possible threat and exhibition of important economic data for users.
“These links are for certain objectives, sometimes with a promise of a prize, other times with promises of learning important information, but it is through these malicious links that people are later harmed”.
“The recommendation is that you avoid following instructions from unknown numbers which, by the way, have nothing to do with the receiver and do not give further details of what is happening. That is, in quotes, the hook – as we colloquially call it – that they use”; says the inspector.
