• Don’t accept links/invites to unknown conference calls 

The Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SLCERT) advised people not to engage with links or invites to conference calls by unknown parties in response to a rise in scams using WhatsApp.

“A lot of these WhatsApp scams are sourced through links or zoom invites,” SLCERT Senior Information Engineer Charuka Damunupola, told The Daily Morning yesterday (5). “Several people click on these links thinking that they are being invited to a website or a conference call, in turn leading to their one-time password (OTP) being exposed.”

OTPs are a string of alphabetical or numeric characters that authenticates a user to use a single transaction or service.

Damunupola stated that this leads to the hacker gaining access to their WhatsApp account and being able to access their contact information. Hackers have been reported to contact the victim’s contacts, requesting for financial help of sums such as Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 100,000.

“Once the victim realises that he or she is hacked, they must immediately inform their contacts of the hacking so that they will not be a victim to these requests for money,” Damunupola said.

The SLCERT advised people to use a two-step verification code on all social media accounts and avoid sharing their OTP with anyone else. He also further advised people to complain to the SLCERT, stating that they have received 34 complaints regarding the same at the current moment. 

Previously, the Police arrested several foreigners for operating online financial scams in Sri Lanka.