A new scam is making the rounds across the instant messaging platform Whatsapp of Meta: many call it “Lucky Group on Instagram” scam and it is already starting to claim its first victims.
It all starts with receiving a message on WhatsApp, in which the potential victim is attracted by the prospect of earning a few euros by carrying out very simple tasks, such as following certain Instagram accounts and watching videos. If the user takes the bait, the cybercriminal sets up a relationship of trust with the victim and it is only at this point that the scams begin.
Usually these are perpetrated moving the conversation to the Telegram platform: the victim is invited by the cybercriminal to log in via an “exclusive” invitation link. Once entered into one of these groups, the user will interface (without knowing it) with automated bots which, using fake dialogues, make him believe that what he is seeing in chat is true and, above all, advantageous. Nothing could be further from the truth! In these chats users are invited by criminals to share your banking detailsusually with the excuse of having to credit them with the sums of money they have earned by joining the “Lucky Group on Instagram”.
To make everything more credible, the victims are actually given small credits but, subsequently, the cyber criminals empty their bank accounts and/or resell their data online.
To protect yourself from online scams on WhatsApp, the first thing to do is not to trust those who promise easy earnings. If you have received suspicious messages on WhatsApp (or on any other instant messaging platform or social network), report immediately the matter to the competent authorities, such as the Police post (even with a simple online report) e never trust anyone who promises easy money on the Web.
