Digital fraud and WhatsApp scams rise across multiple regions

Authorities across various regions are warning of a surge in diverse fraudulent schemes, ranging from sophisticated digital hijacking to traditional social engineering.

A prominent trend involves the misuse of WhatsApp. Criminals are using the ‘view once’ feature to send unexpected images as hooks for extortion, or hijacking entire accounts to impersonate victims and request urgent money from their contacts. In some cases, attackers use malicious links to gain control of devices through malware.

Other common tactics include the ‘wrongful transfer’ scam, where victims are pressured to return money sent by mistake to a fraudulent account, and the ‘kidnapping or accident’ ruse, which uses emotional shock to demand immediate payments. Financial institutions and police departments emphasize that legitimate entities will never request security codes, passwords, or transfers via WhatsApp or phone calls.

In separate legal developments, a former bank employee in Spain faces 12 years in prison for allegedly defrauding clients of nearly 900,000 euros through unauthorized credit card charges. Additionally, reports in the Dominican Republic indicate investigations into doctors returning defrauded funds to Senasa through irregular payment methods.