WhatsApp KBC scam which offers potential victim a lottery amount of Rs. 2.5 million are circling the internet. If you have received a message on your WhatsApp number offering a huge amount, it is advised that you do not pay heed to it otherwise you are likely to be duped of huge amount of money. Several people from other states including UP, Bihar and Rajasthan have posted such messages on Twitter which they have received on their WhatsApp numbers. Rajsamand city police has tweeted a short video explaining the scam. Delhi Police Cyber Cell has already issued an advisory on this. Media reports suggest that widespread scams have been prevalent since last year.
What is WhatsApp KBC scam?
People from different parts of the country have told that they have received messages on this WhatsApp Saying that he has won Rs. 25 lakhs through lottery (a form of gambling) by a show called Kaun Banega Crorepati, better known as KBC. Dubbed as KBC fraud, this scam involves a harmless looking message with a lot of information trying to convince you that you have paid Rs. 25 lakhs in the lottery system which you probably never heard of or will not be a part of.
Since the amount is so huge, an unknown person falls into the trap of fraudsters and loses money. Apart from the huge amount offered in a scam message, another reason to fall for such a message can be the delivery of the message to the private number. Individuals believe that since a message has arrived on their private number, it must be true.
Photos of prominent personalities including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, business tycoon Mukesh Ambani and Amitabh Bachchan are behind the huge amount given in the message of KBC scam. As the pictures of these personalities are going viral on the internet and advertisements, people are being led to believe the text which also has WhatsApp numbers of fraudsters posing as bank managers. They proceed to contact on the given number and eventually cheat the money.
According to an explanation in blog post When the potential victim contacts the number mentioned by the Cyber Crime Unit of Delhi Police to claim the amount, the fraudster demands a certain refundable amount for processing of the lottery as well as GST. “Once the victim deposits that money, they start asking for more under some pretext or the other. After some time, they start telling the victim that the lottery amount has been further increased to Rs. 45 lakhs, then Rs. 75 lakhs, so on and so forth to keep the victim engaged and interested,” the blog states.
It is to be noted that fraudsters insist on communicating only through WhatsApp and will share multiple bank accounts to deposit money. Sometimes, frauds last for several weeks or months, depending on how long they can fool the victim to get the money. By the time the victim realized that she had been defrauded, the fraudsters had stopped communication.
How to protect yourself from WhatsApp KBC scam?
WhatsApp scam is not new as there have been many such cases in the past where people have lost money. Since messages on WhatsApp are end-to-end encrypted, it becomes difficult to detect fraudsters. The easiest and best way not to lose money is to avoid information-filled, reassuring messages that talk about you getting large amounts of money without participating in any activity that involves winning cash. is included.
Sometimes cheaters will walk up to you to make you realize that you are not being cheated on, but don’t fall into this trap. If you’ve moved on, look for red flags. These may include scammers seeking refundable funds, personal details such as your bank account details, debit or credit card details, email address, home address and/or UPI ID. It is strongly advised that you do not share the above details with anyone.
Are you a victim of WhatsApp KBC scam?
If you are a victim, and your money has been cheated, you can approach the police and/or cyber cell to file a complaint. You should include facts explaining how you came in contact with the said person/website and subsequently fraudulently, including screenshots of conversations, numbers and addresses (if any), and showing evidence such as bank transaction details in your complaint Provide documents.