WhatsApp users in India report surge in international spam calls and messages
WhatsApp users in India have reported an increase in incoming international spam calls, leaving many bewildered and without explanation. According to a 2021 report, Indians received an average of 17 spam calls per month. Many Indian entrepreneurs have also flagged such spam calls, including Zerodha cofounder Nikhil Kamath and Unacademy CEO Gaurav Munjal. Users have complained that many of these spam calls have country codes belonging to Indonesia, Malaysia, Kenya, Vietnam, and Ethiopia. Moreover, these calls are not limited to audio but also include video calls and messages from spammers.
It is important to note that a mere country code on WhatsApp does not certify that the call is being dialled from that country. Thousands of WhatsApp users in the country have been impacted by spam calls that have flooded WhatsApp users in the past few days. The scammers target end-users with a larger scam, which starts from a job offer to offering money for menial tasks online.
Once the call is received, the scammers target the end-user with a larger scam, which starts from a job offer to offering money for menial tasks online. Reporters sat down to understand the modus operandi of the scam and how it targets WhatsApp users.
Upon responding to one such fake job offer from a number being dialed with the US code, the scammer directed the reporters to like certain videos on YouTube and send them the screenshots of the same. They were lured with promises of hefty commissions sans a joining fee for the job. After they agreed, they were added to a Telegram group and then bombarded with chats of random members, claiming to have earned a fortune just by working with Telegram group operators.
Here comes the twist, to withdraw commissions, they were requested to fill out an online form with personal details. Once that was done, scammers asked them to furnish their bank details, which is where they put a stop to the misadventure. Nikhil Kamath recounted a similar instance where an acquaintance of his was duped of INR 5 Lakh through a similar part-time job offer on WhatsApp.
India is one of the worst-hit countries when it comes to telemarketing and scam calls. A recent survey by LocalCircles found that 66% of the poll respondents get three or more such phone calls, on an average basis, daily. Jharkhand’s Jamtara is termed the ‘phishing capital of India’ for the quantum of such scams that have emerged from the city.
On May 8, TrueCaller CEO Alan Mamedi said that the caller identification app had witnessed a spike in spam-related reports from Indian users over the past two weeks. He was also quoted as saying that ‘telemarketers switching to internet calling was fairly new to the market.’
The switch to the internet comes close on the heels of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) directing telecom operators such as Reliance Jio and Airtel to deploy AI filters to block spam calls over their networks. Then, there has also been the issue of WhatsApp and other messaging apps being used by scammers to lure users with Ponzi schemes. In some cases, WhatsApp groups have also been used to fuel fake crypto investment schemes. The new crisis seems to complicate matters for WhatsApp, which has previously been slammed by Indian authorities over a slew of issues, including its privacy policy and data localisation norms.
