What happened: I4C flags a rising WhatsApp account takeover campaign
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), reported a sharp rise in complaints on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) about WhatsApp account takeovers. The takeovers target professionals and businesspersons and are linked to malicious files circulated under the guise of account statements and regulatory communications.
I4C stated that, in the last few days, incidents using an identical modus operandi were reported from multiple States, including Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.
How the fraud works: “Statement of Account”/“RBI”/“MCA” zip files
In reported incidents, victims receive a compressed archive (a .zip file) over WhatsApp, SMS, or e-mail. The file names often resemble routine account or compliance documents, such as “Statement of Account.zip” (sometimes prefixed with a date, for example “0714 Statement of Account.zip”), or files named “RBI.zip” and “MCA.zip”.
I4C stated that the message accompanying the archive is written to look legitimate—either as a routine account statement or as an urgent notice from a regulator such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). I4C stated that the message demands compliance within a very short time.
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