Kochi: Even as complaints galore over WhatsApp accounts being hacked by online rackets, victims remain unable to recover their compromised accounts. 

As soon as they gain control of a WhatsApp account, the scamsters manipulate its security settings, leaving the original account holders unable to reset their passwords or login again after being logged out. Hundreds of WhatsApp accounts in the state have been compromised in this manner.

While many victims have filed complaints with the police and WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, only a few accounts have been successfully recovered. Victims who approached WhatsApp were told to wait at least seven days for resolution.

The fraudsters employ a clever tactic by intercepting the one-time password (OTP) and quickly enabling WhatsApp’s two-step verification—a key security feature. Once activated, the OTP and other verification messages are redirected to the email address or phone number provided by the scamsters, locking the original account holder out.

A common ploy involves using hacked accounts to request financial help in group chats. Exploiting access to these groups, the scamsters reportedly target and hack additional accounts within the same groups.

In many cases, the hackers gain access to personal messages, photos, and videos, which they use to blackmail the victims. There have also been reports of scammers making video calls to contacts from hacked accounts.

The online fraudsters have reportedly opened multiple accounts in both nationalised and private banks across the country. Victims who contacted these banks discovered that large sums of money were being deposited into these accounts and withdrawn within seconds via ATMs in North India.

Disturbingly,  these banks have been reluctant to freeze these fraudulent accounts even when provided with evidence.