When Scammers Sound Too Official- Falling for the Fake PTA: A WhatsApp Hijacking Tale

This scam has remained dormant for quite some time but it is resurging again. It is more strategized than ever before. Here’s how it goes: Scammers first collect all your information. That includes ascertaining what your name is, getting your CNIC details, which banks are associated with the number, how many SIMs are linked to the ID all of this is obtained through smart software. Once they’ve got you mapped out, they make their move with a phone call.

For instance, in one of the cases, the victim received a call from a private number. She answered, who’s calling her? The caller claimed to represent PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) and then stated: “Are you using an iPhone 13 Pro?” The victim, already impressed they knew, replied, “Yes, I am.” The scammer then claimed, “Your phone isn’t PTA-approved, and we’re about to block it.”

The victim, confused, said, “What are you talking about? It’s been PTA approved for two years!” The scammer insisted, “No, we haven’t received the payment. You know you need to pay for PTA approval, right?” The victim tried to reason, saying, “I bought it second-hand, not brand new.”

The scammer wasn’t fazed. “Well, we don’t have it registered,” they said, smoothly adding, “We tried contacting you before. You…