Don't believe messages on Whats App asking for money through Paytm

Unidentified persons on Thursday hacked WhatsApp account of a local journalist in Mumbai and sent messages to the people on her contact list asking them to deposit money through an e-wallet service, police said this evening.

The complainant got a WhatsApp message from one of her college friends last night asking to share a code number which she (the complainant) would receive in the form of a text message.

The moment this verification code is shared, the person's WhatsApp account gets compromised, a police official said.

The hacker then sent messages to people on the complainant's contact list, asking them to transfer money to a certain PayTM account.

A few money deposits did take place, the police said, adding that after a complaint was lodged at Cyber Police Station in Bandra Kurla Complex, the journalist's account was recovered.

Police had sought help from PayTM in the investigation to get information about the account in which journalist's friends deposited money, the official added.

The people should not fall for this kind of fraud and never share the WhatsApp verification code, said Sachin Patil, DCP, Cyber Cell.