WhatsApp KBC scam that offers a potential victim a lottery amount of Rs. 25 lacks is making rounds online. If you have received a message on your WhatsApp number that provides a huge sum, it is advised you do not pay heed to it. Otherwise, you will likely be duped by a large amount of money. Several people from UP, Bihar, and Rajasthan, among other states, have taken to Twitter to post such messages they received on their WhatsApp numbers. Rajsamand city police have tweeted a short video explaining the scam. Delhi Police Cyber Cell has previously issued an advisory on the same. Media reports suggest that pervasive fraud has been prevalent since last year.
What is a WhatsApp KBC scam?
People from different parts of the country have reported receiving messages on WhatsApp that they have won Rs. 25 lacks via a lottery (a form of gambling) by a show called Kaun Banega Crorepati, popularly known as KBC. Dubbed KBC fraud, this scam involves a harmless-looking message with loads of information trying to convince you that you have won Rs. 25 lacks in a lottery system that you probably have never heard of or been a part of.
Apart from the huge amount offered in the scam message, another reason for failing for such a message could be delivering the news on a private number. Individuals tend to believe it should be true since they have a statement on their number. Since the amount is so large, an unaware person falls into the trap of fraudsters and loses money.
The huge sum offered in the KBC scam message is backed by photos of prominent personalities, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, business tycoon Mukesh Ambani, and Amitabh Bachchan. Since the images of these personalities are making rounds on the internet and advertisements, people are further pushed 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 duped of money.
As per an explanation in the blog post by Delhi Police’s Cyber Crime Unit, when the potential victim contacts the mentioned number to claim the amount, the fraudster asks for a certain refundable amount towards processing the lottery GST. “Once the victim deposits that money, they start demanding more on one pretext or another. After some time, they tell the victim that the lottery amount has been increased to Rs. 45 lacks, then to Rs. 75 lacks, and so forth to keep the victim engaged and interested,” the blog explains.
It is to be noted 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 into getting money. The fraudsters discontinue communication when the victim realizes they have been duped of money.
How to save yourself from a WhatsApp KBC scam?
The WhatsApp scam is not new, here have been various cases 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 avoid losing money is to prevent such information-laden, clear messages that talk about you getting a huge amount of money without having to paparticipatingvity involving winning cash.
Sometimes fraudsters will follow up with you to make you realize that you are not being scammed 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 UPI ID. It is strongly advised that you don’t share above mentioned details with anyone.
Are you a victim of a WhatsApp KBC scam?
If you’ve been a victim and are duped of your money, you can contact the police and cyber cell to register a complaint. You should include facts explaining how you came in contact with the alleged person/website and subsequent fraud, provide screenshots of conversations, numbers, addresses (if any), and documents showing evidence, like bank transaction statements, in your complaint.
