Man illegally accessed voicemail to take over WhatsApp accounts for syndicate

Using the default personal identification number (PIN) 8888, Arivalagan Muthusamy gained access to multiple StarHub voicemail mailboxes, using them to take over WhatsApp accounts. Some accounts were then used in scams that saw three victims transfer $83,750 to a syndicate.

Arivalagan, 37, was sentenced to 10 months' jail yesterday after he pleaded guilty to three charges under the Computer Misuse Act.

Arivalagan's alleged accomplice - Hoang Trung Khang - has been charged in court, and proceedings against the 28-year-old Vietnamese national are ongoing.

Deputy Public Prosecutor R. Arvindren said in court documents that Arivalagan and Khang started working for a syndicate involved in scams last year and targeted StarHub mobile users registered with a voicemail feature.

The voicemail mailbox could be accessed remotely by keying in the mobile number and PIN.

Arivalagan and Khang called mobile numbers to test if the call would be diverted to voicemail when it went unanswered. Arivalagan then called StarHub's service hotline and keyed in the victim's mobile number and the default PIN, which is available publicly.

After getting a one-time password, the latter was used to illegally take over the WhatsApp account of the victim by registering a new account on another mobile device.

Said DPP Arvindren: "The accused knew that the purpose of taking over WhatsApp accounts of victims is to allow the syndicate to cheat individuals in the contact list of the victims' WhatsApp accounts by asking them to invest."

Between October and Nov 26 last year, Arivalagan accessed 40 WhatsApp accounts belonging to unknown owners. He was paid $250 for each compromised account.

On Nov 27, Arivalagan accessed another 12 WhatsApp accounts following instructions from a syndicate member. He was provided a list of numbers to contact.

Three of the accounts were later logged out and could not be used by the syndicate, and Arivalagan was paid $2,250 for the other nine.

The next day, he gained access to the StarHub voicemail mailbox belonging to Mr Amos Lye.

Mr Lye's WhatsApp account was then taken over by the syndicate, and his friends were contacted by a member of the syndicate and were targeted as potential scam victims.

Multiple police reports were filed and Arivalagan was arrested on Nov 29 last year at a unit in Geylang, and Khang was nabbed in a hotel in the same area the next day. DPP Arvindren asked for Arivalagan to be sentenced to 11 months' jail, saying the nature of his crimes was difficult to detect.

For each charge, Arivalagan could have been fined $5,000 and jailed for up to two years.