WhatsApp KBC scam that offers a potential victim a lottery amount of Rs. 25 lakh is making rounds on the internet.
If you have receive a message on your WhatsApp number that offers a huge sum, it is advise you do not pay heed to it otherwise you are likely to be dupe of large amount of money.
Many people from UP, Bihar and Rajasthan, among many other states, have taken to Twitter to post such messages which they receive on their WhatsApp numbers.
Rajsamand city police has tweet a short video explaining the scam.
Delhi Police Cyber Cell has in the past issue an advisory on the same.
Media reports suggest that the pervasive scam has prevalent since 2021.
सावधान!
— Rajsamand Police (@RajsamandPolice) June 14, 2022
सोशल मीडिया पर 25 लाख की #KBC लॉटरी का वायरल मैसेज फर्जी है।
अनजान नंबर से वॉट्सएप पर प्राप्त संदेश पर अपने खाते की या निजी जानकारी नहीं दें।
सावधान रहें, सतर्क रहें।#KBCFraud #CyberCrimeAwareness @PoliceRajasthan @Cyberdost@IgpUdaipur@KBCsony@WhatsApp pic.twitter.com/PerIRR3Byy
What is WhatsApp KBC Scam?
People from different parts of the country have report that they have got messages on WhatsApp saying that they have won Rs. 25 lakh via a lottery (a form of gambling) by a show call as Kaun Banega Crorepati, popularly known as KBC.
Dubbed as KBC fraud, this scam involves a harmless-looking message with loads of information trying to convince you that you have won Rs. 25 lakh in a lottery system that you probably have never heard or be a part of.
Since the amount is so large, an unaware person falls into the trap laid by fraudsters and ends up losing money.
Apart from the huge amount offer in the scam message, another reason for falling for such a message could be the delivery of the message on a private number.
Individuals tend to believe that since they have got a message on their private number, it should be true.
The huge sum offer in the KBC scam message is back by photos of prominent personalities including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, business tycoon Mukesh Ambani, and Amitabh Bachchan.
Since the photos of these personalities are making rounds on the internet and advertisements, people are further push into believing the text which also contains WhatsApp numbers of fraudsters posed as bank managers.
They move forward to contacting the given number and are eventually dupe of money.
As per an explanation in the blog post by Delhi Police’s Cyber Crime Unit, when the potential victim contacts on the mentioned number to claim the amount, the fraudster asks for a certain refundable amount towards the processing of the lottery as well as GST.
Delhi Police’s Blog Explain :
“Once the victim deposits that money, they start demanding for more on one pretext or another. After some time, they start telling the victim that the lottery amount has been increased further to Rs. 45 lakh, then to Rs. 75 lakh, so on and so forth to keep the victim engaged and interested,”.
It is to be note that the fraudsters insist on communicating only through WhatsApp and will share multiple bank accounts to deposit money.
Sometimes, the fraud goes on for several weeks or months depending upon how long they can fool the victim to get money.
By the time the victim realises that he/she has duped of money, the fraudsters had already discontinued communication.
How to Save from WhatsApp KBC Scam?
WhatsApp scam is not a new thing as there have various cases in the past where people have lost money.
Since the messages on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted, it becomes difficult to trace the fraudsters.
The easiest and best way to not to lose money is to avoid such information-laden, convincing messages that talk about you getting a huge amount of money without you having to have taken part in any activity that involves winning cash.
Sometimes fraudsters will follow up with you to make you realise that you are not being scam but do not fall into this trap.
In case you have moved forward, look for red flags.
These may include scammers asking for refundable money, personal details such as your bank account details, debit or credit card details, email address, home address, and/or UPI ID.
It is strongly advise that you don’t share above mention details with anyone.
Are you a Victim of WhatsApp KBC Scam?
In case you’ve been a victim, and are dupe of your money, you can contact police and/or cyber cell to register a complaint.
You should include facts explaining how you came in contact with the allege person/website and subsequent fraud, provide screenshots of conversations, numbers and addresses (if any) involved, and documents showing evidence like bank transaction statements in your complaint.
