1 week ago

Fake Parcel Call Allegedly Hijacks BMC Chief’s WhatsApp

A scammer called Ashwini Bhide and pretended that a parcel had been sent to her.

The caller then told her to dial a special phone code.

That code secretly sent her incoming calls to the scammers’ phone.

The scammers used this trick to receive WhatsApp’s verification call.

They then took control of her WhatsApp account.

They used her photo and contacted people in her address book.

Some people were reportedly asked to send money.

Bhide acted quickly, stopped the call forwarding, and regained control of the account.

Police are warning everyone not to dial unusual codes given by strangers.

Key facts

Target: Ashwini Bhide, BMC Commissioner
Initial tactic: A caller falsely claimed that a parcel had been booked in Bhide’s name.
Phone code: The code reportedly began with 21, included a 10-digit mobile number, and ended with #.
Account access: Scammers allegedly selected WhatsApp voice verification after activating call forwarding.
Impersonation: The compromised account used Bhide’s photograph and sent messages to contacts.
Response: Bhide disabled call forwarding and took steps to regain her WhatsApp access.
Police warning: Citizens were advised not to dial star-based codes supplied by unknown callers.

freepressjournal.in · 1 week ago