Elathur MLA Vidya Balakrishnan had received a phone call on July 6 from a person claiming to be the private secretary of the Wayanad MP, offering her a Cabinet Minister’s post in exchange for ₹3 crore. Growing suspicious, the MLA contacted the MP’s office, which confirmed it was a scam
There is a bogus version of Singapore’s prime minister that exists only to steal money. It connected to a Zoom call, thanked a stranger for his time and helped relieve him of US$3.8 million – with the real Lawrence Wong, for a time, none the wiser about what had happened. The victim had received a WhatsApp message purporting to be from the secretary to the cabinet, inviting him to a private meeting. What followed was not some doctored photo or a 15-second clip designed to fool a distracted...
Government said that the feature could “facilitate impersonation and identity spoofing, including impersonation by permitting the adoption of usernames closely resembling those of genuine persons or institutions”
The Union government sent WhatsApp a notice about the feature over impersonation concerns. The feature was set to be rolled out in the coming months