Nepal Police Warns Public Amid Rise in WhatsApp Hacking and Online Fraud Cases

Kathmandu. Nepal Police's Cyber Bureau has urged the general public to stay alert, citing a rise in WhatsApp hacking incidents that involve sending false messages, defrauding people, and stealing money. It has been observed that when hackers gain control of a user's account, there is a growing tendency to send messages to relatives and friends stating, 'I am in difficulty, please send money immediately.'

According to the bureau, such messages frequently encourage people to transfer money promptly using QR codes or other methods. The majority of the victims have lost money because they thought the communication was from someone they knew.

The Cyber Bureau has advised individuals to call the person in question immediately to confirm before transferring money and to avoid believing such texts in a hurry. It has also advised people not to click on suspicious links, files, or codes.

According to the bureau, it is extremely necessary to adopt basic security measures such as mandatorily enabling 'two-step verification' to keep online accounts secure, not sharing OTPs or verification codes with anyone, and regularly updating mobile apps.

Similarly, the bureau has advised users to log out after using WhatsApp Web or the app on a public computer or someone else's device.

With the rise in cybercrime cases, the Cyber Bureau of Nepal Police has urged citizens to be aware of digital security and to report any suspicious activities immediately. 

Some time ago, the WhatsApp account of former Inspector General of Armed Police Force, Sanat Kumar Basnet, was hacked. Similarly, it was discovered that a hacker had taken over the account of Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS) chairman Dharmendra Jha by stealing the OTP code under the pretext of involving him in a Zoom meeting.

A fake WhatsApp account was created using the name and photo of Kathmandu Metropolitan's acting mayor, Sunita Dangol, to run a scam. 

There have also been cases where scammers posed as bank employees and emptied bank accounts in seconds through fraud involving WhatsApp screen mirroring. According to the police, the method involves deceiving the target by saying, “There is a problem with your account, please share your screen to resolve it,” and then taking control of the device.

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