The Police urge the public to exercise extreme caution when forming relationships with strangers through dating apps and social media platforms. According to several recently reported incidents, fraudsters use dating apps to befriend victims and initiate romantic relationships. These scammers engage in sending enticing messages over a period of time ranging from a short to a long duration to gain the victims’ trust and subsequently deceive them. According to the police, fraudsters also target individuals through social media and messaging platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Telegram. They claim to offer opportunities for online sexual services or the formation of personal relationships. Subsequently, they persuade victims to download and install a specific mobile application.
The police have warned that although these applications may appear to be dating apps, they could actually be malicious ‘APK’ files designed to compromise the security of the victims’ mobile phones and steal their online banking information.
Consequently, once such a malicious application is installed on a victim’s phone, fraudsters can gain access to the usernames and passwords associated with the victim’s financial accounts whenever the victim conducts online transactions. The police have issued a warning to the public to exercise caution, as these fraudsters use this access to illicitly obtain funds.