Bengaluru man shares hilarious chat with scammer who planned to steal OTPs, credit/debit card info

Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma retweeted a thread on X (formerly Twitter) that has been making waves on social media. The thread, originally posted by Chetty Arun, a Bengaluru resident and culture head at Razorpay, detailed a conversation he had with a scammer on WhatsApp.

Arun, who was initially annoyed with the scam attempts, decided to engage with one of the fraudsters. The conversation that ensued was not only enlightening but also revealed the techniques used by these scammers.

The scammer informed Arun that the APK file he received on WhatsApp, if downloaded, would forward all his messages to the scammer’s number. The scammer also revealed that they use OTPs that come on the victim’s number and then use them to sign up for e-commerce websites to steal money.

The thread quickly went viral, amassing over two million views and sparking a flurry of comments from amused social media users. One user commented, “This was too good but also should be shared for public awareness”.

Sharma, upon noticing the thread, retweeted it with the comment, “You won’t stop till you read this full thread!”. His retweet has brought further attention to the thread and the scamming techniques it reveals.

What is the scam all about?

The scammer, who Arun humorously saved as “Scammy McScammer” in his contacts, revealed that once they have access to a victim’s number and SMS inbox, they first take over the victim’s WhatsApp. They then try installing all e-commerce and bank apps and sign up. The OTPs anyway come to them. Once they have access to any such apps, the sky is the limit.

Arun’s thread serves as a stark reminder of the importance of online safety and the need to be vigilant against such scams. As the thread suggests, it’s crucial not to click on suspicious APK files and to reset everything if someone accidentally installs such an APK.

Read the complete thread below: 

I spoke with yet another scammer today. I don't know why I do this, but here we go.

It all started with a few annoying Whatsapp messages trying to scam me. But we ended up wishing each other good luck 😂

1/n pic.twitter.com/Sm49J5XtNW

— Chetty Arun (@ChettyArun) April 19, 2024