Courier scam: How fraudsters got into BMC chief Ashwini Bhide’s WhatsApp
BMC Commissioner Ashwini Bhide was the latest high-profile victim of the courier scam, in which fraudsters gained control of her WhatsApp account and began demanding money from her contacts. Similar scams have previously targeted Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC, Marathi actress Vanita Kharat, NCP leader Supriya Sule and BJP leader Sambit Patra. The scam originates from the Jharkhand-Bihar border.
In Bhide's case, she received a call on Saturday from someone claiming to have delivered a parcel. When she questioned the parcel, the caller asked her to call another number for further details. The message contained **21* followed by a mobile number and #, which instructed her to activate call forwarding to the provided number. As a result, her calls were redirected to the fraudsters' phone.
The fraudsters then accessed Bhide's WhatsApp account by calling her number and activating it with a voice call, rather than an OTP. They then browsed her contact list and sent messages to everyone demanding money. Bhide became aware of the scam and deactivated the feature, restoring her account. No FIR has been filed yet, and the officer noted that such scams are frequently attempted during weekends.
Written by urgent.news from The Indian Express's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
