How To Track a WhatsApp Scammer? |What Is Image Scam?

Welcome to CyberCrimesDaily in today’s article, I will tell you How to track a WhatsApp scammer? And what should I do. Cybercriminals are adopting new methods of fraud. But if you already know about these methods, you can avoid them.

How To Track a WhatsApp Scammer?

What If I Receive a WhatsApp Message from an Unknown Number

Nowadays, social networking apps have become a hotspot for cybercrimes. We all use many applications for social networking. One of the most popular apps is WhatsApp. Its features make it user-friendly and it is also secure due to encryption.

Seeing its popularity, these scammers are also targeting you in different ways on WhatsApp. If you are aware of their methods, you can avoid their scams. In today’s article, I will tell you about the different types of scams that are happening on WhatsApp.

And we will also warn you about the scammers who are cheating Chardham pilgrims. But first, let’s talk about the cyber scams that are happening on WhatsApp.

New Methods of Cyber Criminals

The danger is new. It is also surprising. And the chances of falling into its trap are very high. It is a picture scam on WhatsApp. What do you do when you receive a message or a picture on WhatsApp? You usually click on the picture and download it. It was sent by someone you know or someone you don’t know. If you want to see it, you have to download it. And it is not an attachment, it is just a picture.

Malware Inside The Picture

Scammers think that if they send pictures on WhatsApp, they will definitely be clicked. But these pictures, which seem completely safe, are now under threat. Some of them may have malware, some code or virus hidden in them, which can steal your personal information, your banking information, OTP, password, UPI data etc.

Moreover, this malware can also take control of your phone. It is difficult to detect because it does not contain an APK file. There are no links.

You are Smart but When You Get Caught

You are smart. You know you should not click on any link. But a simple picture? Now, a picture of a stranger can be a threat.

Your device can be at risk as soon as you open it. Malware can reach your apps, files, data and compromise your cybersecurity. It can harm you.

Another New Method of Cyber Crime

Sir, I am calling from your phone company. I sent you a picture on WhatsApp. Do you recognize him?

You do not know who is calling. It is a wrong number. Later you will see that a picture has come to your WhatsApp from the same number and you will think Oh! Oh! I got a call from this number.

He also sent some pictures. Let me see what pictures he sent. After seeing the pictures, what happened was Oh! Oh! How did this app called Customer Support get downloaded automatically? My phone is also getting hung.

Where did this OTP come from? Oh! One lakh? One lakh rupees gone. Oh God! I just clicked on a picture. But as soon as the picture was downloaded, I got cheated.

You will say, how did this happen? I didn’t click on any link. I didn’t do anything wrong. You just did what you do in your daily routine

It’s not wrong. Isn’t it? But not anymore. Pictures from an unknown number, it’s not pictures. It’s a scam. These criminals are playing with your emotions.

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Examples of Cyber Crime

For example, you get a message on WhatsApp that this child is missing somewhere. Look at this picture carefully. If you see this child, call this number immediately.

This is a father’s appeal. It’s obvious. You can immediately see in the picture that it is related to a child.

You should help. Let’s see how it happens. It uses the technique of steganography.

Steganography is a technique where a message or file is hidden so that the viewer does not know that there is some information hidden there. For example, a secret message is hidden in a picture. Some information is inserted into an audio or video file so that it cannot be heard or seen.

In a text file, a secret information is hidden in the spaces between words or in the spelling. Initially, it was used by secret organizations and workers. But now this technique is in the hands of scammers, who hide code or malware in the picture.

After Opening the Picture

The malware is activated as soon as the picture is opened. You do not need any OTP but you fall directly into the hands of the scammer. An app is downloaded.

Your information is stolen. Your phone is accessed even when you are away. Your account is emptied by net banking.

Most of these scams are done on WhatsApp. But you can protect yourself from it. If something is hidden inside something, then it is called steganography.

Uses of Steganography

Good Uses

For example, a code in a movie is hidden through stenography. What is a QR code? A QR code is a link from which you are paying. But it is a good use.

You are hiding information but it is a good use. Steganography. It is a good use to hide something and hide some information, encrypt it and take it somewhere.

Bad Uses

But if you hack someone, it will be a bad use. Steganography is done in many ways. If you play a video at a certain speed, you will see that something is wrong.

If you play it normally, you will not see anything in the video. Everything is fine. If you look at a picture in a different light, you will see that picture differently.

You must have seen it in old movies. If you put a different colour on an ink, you will see that ink, otherwise it is invisible. There are many ways to show any information in front of you, there is some other information behind it that you don’t understand.

How Can There Be Any Malware?

Like I clicked on your picture, there was a virus inside it. I thought I didn’t click on any link. So why would it be on my phone? How can there be any malware? Or how can my password be stolen? But I clicked on your picture, there was a link behind that picture.

How to Avoid It?

And if you want to avoid it, then WhatsApp users need to pay attention to these 5 things. You need to do this. First, if you don’t want anyone to hack your WhatsApp, then activate two-factor verification on WhatsApp.

Go to Two-Step Verification and Turn It On

What to do for this? Go to settings, click on account options, go to two-step verification and turn it on. Enter a 6-digit PIN. By the way, which PIN did you enter? Date of birth? Date of birth of family member? Mobile number? No, keep a unique number that no one can guess.

After that, confirm it and click on save. It will happen that if someone tries to hack your WhatsApp, he will need this 6-digit PIN. If it is not there, then he will not be able to hack.

Turn Off the Auto-Download Option

Second step, turn off the auto-download option on WhatsApp. What to do for this? You need to go to settings, go to storage and data, go to media auto-download. Here you will see three options.

Using mobile data, using Wi-Fi or roaming. What are all the auto-downloads? That is, images, audio, videos and documents. Do not tick any.

Avoid Joining Unknown Groups

Now nothing will be downloaded on your WhatsApp without your consent. Third step, to prevent anyone from putting you in a group without your consent, all you have to do is go to settings, go to privacy, go to group options. Here you will get three options for who can add you to the group.

In this, select my contacts. That is, only people in your contact list will be able to add you to a group. To add an unknown person to your group, you will have to send an invitation.

Then it will be your decision whether you want to join the group or not. Fourth step, I keep saying that do not pick up WhatsApp calls from strangers. So for this too, you do a simple thing.

You can silence WhatsApp calls from strangers. What to do? Go to settings, go to privacy, activate call silence for unknown callers. By doing this, no WhatsApp call from strangers will ring.

Then you will not pick it up. However, it will definitely be visible in your WhatsApp calls tab. Fifth step, you have to get used to it.

And that is, do not download any image or video from any unknown number. You will not download and will not get into trouble. So just do these five things.

Why Is It Important to Know These?

Is it difficult? It is important to know these so that you can do them smartly. There is also a suggestion that you should not do net banking on the number on which you use WhatsApp. And if there is any doubt about any number, block it immediately and complain about it.

Remember, clicking on images from strangers does not only destroy your data, but also your peace of mind. That is why, the habit of downloading and viewing every image has changed. Nowadays, a new fraud is spreading very fast on WhatsApp.

In this, scammers ask for OTP or personal information from someone they know. A little carelessness can become a threat to your security.

Through this, scammers not only empty your account, but also leak all your photos. And also loot your friends and family’s money.

Another New Scam

This is a new fraud. In this, scammers pretend to be your relative or friend and say that I sent you my code by mistake. Whenever they tell you, the scammers log in to your WhatsApp and log you out.

Similarly, we don’t sleep without logging out. Because she will be watching us at night. We need to understand that our family has also compromised us.

Audio Tools Can Listen to You

Audio tools like Alexa can listen to you. Many people tell me that we talk, it suddenly comes up on the internet, starts showing up in searches. Because we have our audio turned on everywhere.

You turn it on and then you start talking. You turn it on forever. They are always listening to you.

And all these records are stored somewhere in your voice. Because AI is being built AI is being built All these models are built on underlying data. Tell me one thing, are you planning to go out this time? I’m asking you this because if you are planning to go on a four-way trip, this news is for you.

I4C Has Issued a National Level Alert

According to the Union Home Ministry, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre i.e. I4C has issued a national level alert because whenever you plan to book anything from hotels to taxi services, helicopter bookings, all online so that all the arrangements are done properly and you can enjoy the trip. These cyber criminals try to cheat you with the help of this need. From four-way registration to heli service bookings, they are spreading fake charges.

Fake Website

Fake websites which look like real but the domain name is slightly changed or social media platforms are being used in large numbers. They give fake advertisements on Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram or take advantage of very cheap offers and you fall into the trap. They do not even take payment from any secure payment gateway they ask for bank transfer or they ask for payment from UPI which you obviously do on your mobile number.

Always Use Real Website

This is why cyber friends are warning you to book only from authorized websites. It has become very common that you go to a website for any service and get trapped on a fake website and when you call a fake number or register on a website you fall into the trap of fraudsters. That is why it is very important in Cyber Alert. I am giving you information about it.

Let’s see how to identify these fake websites. Check the URL i.e. domain name. Here you should see that instead of O you should write 0 and in the URL you should see the LOCK symbol.

In the web address bar, it is better to put HTTPS i.e. the site has a security certificate. You can also check the SSL certificate. You can also check this by clicking on the padlock icon.

Check Website like and Reviews

Check the reviews too. Along with the name of the website you can search for things like reviews, scams or feedback in the browser. If any user has had a negative experience or they have told the site that it is a fraudster, then you should be wary.

You should also check the privacy policy and terms of service. You should also check the policies and terms of big companies. You should also check the contact information.

The real website also provides a customer service number, email address or physical location address. If the website does not have any contact number or only a mobile number, then it could be a scam. Fake sites, use addresses that are not related to the real business.

Avoided Lot of Pop-Ups and Redirects

If you get a lot of pop-ups or the website redirects you to another site, then you should be wary. Go to the whois.com domain tool and enter the URL and you will get all the information about the website and the website. If you want to go further, there is a tool called MobiArmor where you can scan any link and see if the link is malware or if it is stealing data or if it is a cloned link or if it can harm you in any way. You can use SSL Checker to check if the website has a valid SSL certificate.

Is it safe to answer unknown WhatsApp messages?

No It is not safe for us

Can someone hack my WhatsApp?

Yes, WhatsApp accounts can be hacked.

What to do if someone unknown texts you?

You can contact the company using a phone number or website you know is real.

Who do I contact if my WhatsApp is hacked?

If your WhatsApp is hacked, Please contact immediately WhatsApp support.

 Conclusions

In this article, you have learned about various incidents of cybercrime, remember one thing: your understanding of cybercrime will help you to save yourself from cybercriminals. If you are aware of every movement of cybercriminals, then you will be able to save yourself from cybercriminals. So educate yourself on this subject and educate others.

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