Beware of conmen asking you to vote for a ‘friend’s child’ in a dance competition on WhatsApp

SINGAPORE – Beware of scammers who ask you to vote for a “friend’s child” in a dance competition. They may actually be tricking you into providing them with access to your WhatsApp account.

In this scam tactic, scammers would send WhatsApp messages from known contacts asking victims to vote for a “friend’s child” in a dance competition, said the police in a statement on Feb 10, adding that no losses have been reported so far.

These messages would contain a clickable link that directs victims to a fake voting website.

Victims would then be asked to “verify” their votes by providing their mobile number for a one-time password (OTP) or by scanning a QR code. In so doing, victims unknowingly authorise the scammers’ devices to access their WhatsApp accounts.

The scammers would then use the victim’s account to send a message to carry out the same ruse or ask for money, the police said.

Victims will realise their WhatsApp accounts have been compromised only when their contacts notify them of the unusual requests, the police added.

Members of the public should never scan QR codes on suspicious websites or provide sensitive information such as OTPs to anyone, cautioned the police.

People can secure their WhatsApp accounts by removing unknown devices linked to their accounts and should enable the two-step verification feature on the app.

Other precautionary measures include using the ScamShield app to block scam calls and filter out scam SMSes. The public can also visit https://www.whatsapp.com/security for information about security features on WhatsApp.

People can check the signs of a scam using official sources such as the ScamShield app, and should be wary of unusual requests received over WhatsApp. The 24/7 ScamShield helpline can be reached on 1799.

Tell the authorities and others about scam encounters by reporting them to the bank and filing a police report.