WhatsApp most popular social media platform for online scammers: MHA report

A report from the Union Home Ministry reveals that social media platforms, with WhatsApp, followed by Telegram and Instagram, remain popular hunting grounds for online scammers.

43,797 complaints regarding cyber frauds through WhatsApp were received followed by 22,680 complaints against Telegram and 19,800 against Instagram In the first three months of year 2024.

The annual MHA report 2023-24 reads that Cyber fraudsters have been using Google services platforms for initiating these crimes. Google Advertisement platform provides a convenient facility for targeted advertisement from across the border. 

"This scam, known as "Pig Butchering Scam" or "Investment Scam" is a global phenomenon and involves large-scale money laundering and even cyber slavery. Unemployed youths, housewives, students, and needy people are targeted, who are losing large sums of money (even borrowed money) on a daily basis," it reads.

14C has partnered with Google and Facebook for sharing intelligence and signals for proactive actions like flagging digital lending apps and its signals and Abuse of Google's Firebase domains (free hosting) by Cyber fraudsters, Android Banking Malwares (Hashes) and many others. 

Sponsored Facebook ads are extensively used by organised cyber criminals to launch illegal lending apps in India. Such links are proactively identified and shared with Facebook, along with Facebook pages for necessary action, it further reads. 

14C is making efforts for the capacity building of all pillars of criminal justice system i.e. Law Enforcement Agencies, Forensic Examiners, Prosecutors and Judges for imparting training in cyber security, investigation of cybercrime and digital forensics in institutes across the country.