MP Ramona Attard Falls Victim to WhatsApp Attack to Gather Money
A Maltese Member of Parliament reported the matter to police after hackers took control of her WhatsApp account and are using it to request money from her friends and colleagues.
MP Ramona Attard Falls Victim to WhatsApp Attack to Gather Money
Member of Parliament Ramona Attard reported the matter to police after unknown persons gained control of her WhatsApp profile and began deceiving her contacts into making money transfers.
In a post on social media, the parliamentarian explained that someone had accessed her phone without permission and had been sending requests for payments through an online financial service. "Someone illegally accessed my WhatsApp and is sending messages to my contacts asking them to send me money for rent through Revolut," Attard wrote. "I don't have a Revolut account. This is a scam and it is not me sending these messages."
The impostor was requesting €1,150 and was providing a link to a Revolut profile belonging to a person who has nothing to do with the MP.
Attard said she reported the case to the competent authorities and urged everyone who receives any financial request from her to ignore the message.
She also revealed that her messages have been frozen, which means she cannot see who is being contacted or what is being discussed.
This incident came a few days after a separate warning from the Maltese police centre about different frauds. Those criminal messages were asking the public to vote for a candidate to help them obtain a scholarship, and they contained dangerous links that could spread malware or steal personal data.
The law enforcement forces issued an appeal to the public not to open links that arrive in messages, even if they appear to come from a known person, and to always verify requests through a different channel before taking action.
Source: LovinMalta
Source: Lovin Malta