San Juan man loses 18 million pesos in WhatsApp fraud
A Capital resident fell victim to a virtual scam in which cybercriminals impersonated an acquaintance to offer him an alleged dollar transaction.
San Juan man loses 18 million pesos in WhatsApp fraud
A 47-year-old resident of San Juan city became the victim of a digital scam that cost him 18 million pesos. The fraudsters posed as a close friend through WhatsApp, managing to convince him to participate in an alleged currency transaction.
The crime began when the victim received a message that appeared to come from his acquaintance, proposing that he purchase dollars in exchange for pesos. During the conversation, the fake contact asked him to deposit the money into two bank aliases that the man did not recognise. Trusting that it was his friend, he made both transfers for the total amount mentioned.
The truth came to light when the defrauded man decided to call his acquaintance's partner to confirm details. It was then that he learned his friend's mobile phone had been stolen shortly before the dialogue with the criminals began. The fraudsters had accessed his messaging profile and were using his identity to contact his acquaintances with fraudulent proposals.
A report was filed at the second police station in the area, and subsequently the Fiscal Unit in charge of investigating computer crimes and fraud took on the case. The prosecutors are seeking to identify those responsible and recover the transferred funds.
This incident illustrates the growing wave of cyber fraud affecting the province and underscores the importance of validating the identity of whoever requests money through electronic means, even if they appear to be a person of trust.
Source: Diario 13 San Juan
Source: Google News PR — San Juan