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Journalism of Courage
Indian cricket commentator and journalist Harsha Bhogle has raised an alarm about a growing cyber fraud called “WhatsApp hijacking scam.” Sharing a post on X saying “WARNING: SCAM ALERT!” Bhogle urged people to stay vigilant and protect their WhatsApp accounts.
In his post, Bhogle recounted a recent incident involving a relative who fell victim to the scam.
“Last month, a relative received a message from a friend asking for a code that had been mistakenly sent to her. Trusting their friendship, she shared the code without suspicion. The next thing she knew, she was logged out of her WhatsApp account. The scammer then started messaging her contacts, pretending to be her, asking for money or codes to hijack their accounts as well,” Bhogle wrote in his post.
He also shared how the situation worsened when his relative was boarding a flight and was in a rush. “The scammer had changed the group settings where she was an admin and even updated the backup email ID, making it impossible for us to log back in,” he wrote.
Bhogle, then, thanked Meta for restoring his relative’s access to WhatsApp.
Bhogle’s post included a video by YouTube creator Saksham Senior, which explains the mechanics of the scam and provides tips to prevent falling victim to it. “So, what is this scam, how does it work, and why do we fall for it? Well, the good folks at @sakshamsenior have put together a video explaining it all. Share it with your parents, family, friends, and anyone who could benefit from this,” Bhogle wrote.
https://twitter.com/bhogleharsha/status/1902627556932845883
In the comments, Bhogle also shared a Hindi version of the video, featuring Rajneil R Kamath, founder of Saksham Senior. Kamath detailed the scam’s execution and provided tips on how to stay safe in an increasingly vulnerable digital world. According to him, this kind of attack is only possible if people interact with the scammer. Kamath wrote, “Never share OTPs, be cautious of urgent requests especially those involving codes or money, and if you receive emails to reset your two-step verification pin, don’t click or allow.”
The post quickly went viral, gaining thousands of views within an hour. Responding to it, an X user wrote, “The key is to stay cautious and learn to say no when it comes to sharing passwords and verification codes.” Another user commented, “This is so important… scams like this are becoming way too common. Thanks for sharing, Harsha.”
A third user wrote, “The tactics used in this scam—requesting a verification code and then using the compromised account to target contacts—are quite common. This is a great reminder to be extra cautious about sharing any codes received via SMS.”
As the digital world evolves, cyber threats do too. Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated, exploiting vulnerabilities to their advantage. Indianexpress.com has a special feature series called The Safe Side where we uncover the latest cybercrime trends and provide practical tips to help our readers stay informed, secure, and vigilant online. Last week on The Safe Side, WhatsApp hijacking scam was discussed in detail. You can read it here: How hackers take over WhatsApp accounts and ways to stop them.
