Kolkatans, beware of WhatsApp clone fraud via ‘call forwarding’

Fraudsters have found a new way to clone WhatsApp accounts and dupe people by asking them to activate “call forwarding” on their phones, police said on Wednesday.

The police said they had received at least two complaints where fraudsters convinced the complainants to activate call forwarding and subsequently took control of their WhatsApp before sending messages to people on their contact lists asking for money.

“Once someone gets control of another person’s WhatsApp, they can seek financial help from people on the victim’s contact list,” said an officer in Lalbazar.