Crediting money on Touch ‘n Go (TnG) eWallet accounts, pretty recruiters offering you ludicrous online paid jobs, and even “EPF” giving out loans, scammers are getting more and more creative in tricking people for their money.
The elderly and teens are most vulnerable to these scams as they are susceptible to tricks using tech that they’re not familiar with and desperate for tempting offers that promise good money.
Recently, a new type of online scam has surfaced, this time in the form of an online wedding invitation.
This is shared by a Twitter user, @IniAlalalannn when he reminded everyone to be careful with a new scam circulating on WhatsApp.
In his post, he told that scammers are sending wedding invites to the public with a file attachment in the form of an APK file. He advised the public to warn their parents and other elderly to avoid downloading suspicious files from unknown people.
He also shared a screenshot of a conversation that details the scam. Firstly, the scammer randomly sent a wedding invitation using a generic name to the victim. Then, he would ask the victim to download the apk file attached to see the “digital wedding card”.
When asked about whose wedding this is, the scammer again asked to click on the file to find out more details.
What is an APK (Android Package Kit) File?
An APK file is a type of archive format, similar to ZIP files that contain multiple files and metadata in them. But this format is heavily used as a malicious file that will insert malware to harvest a victim’s personal information if the user installs them on their phone, especially for Android users.
When installed, the APK files allow the sender to steal data from users’ mobile phones, including users’ TAC numbers which will allow them to make unauthorised banking transactions.
Scammers have been using the APK files with various modus operandi previously. Some used it in package courier scams, cleaning ad scams, chatting sites and more.
The public should be advised to never download any app outside of the Google Play Store or other official app stores.
For more information and advice on scams or to report your encounters, you can contact CCID Scam Response Centre at 03-26101559, 03-26101599 or send a Whatsapp message to the CCID Infoline at 013-211 1222.
Alternatively, you could also simply dial the 997 hotline to report the scam at the National Scam Response Centre.
