Police warn of compromised WhatsApp accounts infecting computers through malicious files警方警告：被入侵的 WhatsApp 账户可能通过恶意文件感染计算机。
Scammers are taking over WhatsApp accounts to spread malware to computers, the police warned on Monday (Nov 2).While victims have not reported any monetary losses so far, police said scammers might have stolen personal information.In an advisory, they said victims would receive messages from compromised WhatsApp accounts belonging to known persons, including friends, colleagues, or supervisors.The messages would contain file...
Scammers are taking over WhatsApp accounts to spread malware to computers, the police warned on Monday (Nov 2).
While victims have not reported any monetary losses so far, police said scammers might have stolen personal information.
In an advisory, they said victims would receive messages from compromised WhatsApp accounts belonging to known persons, including friends, colleagues, or supervisors.
The messages would contain file attachments with seemingly legitimate or work-related file names such as "Invoice 2026-09-15.iso", "Statement of Account_54d3.zip" and "Salary Revision.rar".
Scammers would ask their victims to open the file on a computer, even telling some to forward the attachments to their finance managers.
The malware would be downloaded directly into the computers of users of WhatsApp Desktop or WhatsApp Web.
Police said the malware can record and track keystrokes, capture screenshots, and communicate with an external command-and-control server.
In many cases, the victims' WhatsApp accounts were taken over and used by scammers to disseminate the same malware to their contacts.
Some of these compromised accounts were also used to solicit money from the victims' contacts.
Members of the public are advised to enhance the security of their Whatsapp accounts, by enabling two-step verification and regularly checking the devices linked to their WhatsApp account.
They can safeguard against scams by using the ACT (Add, Check, Tell) framework, which involves adding the ScamShield app and setting security features.
If in doubt, call the ScamShield helpline at 1799.
lim.kewei@asiaone.com
警方周一（11月2日）发出警告，诈骗分子正在接管 WhatsApp 帐户，向计算机传播恶意软件。
虽然目前受害者尚未报告任何经济损失，但警方表示，诈骗分子可能已经窃取了个人信息。
他们在一份公告中表示，受害者会收到来自被盗用的 WhatsApp 帐户的消息，这些帐户属于熟人，包括朋友、同事或主管。
这些邮件会包含看似合法或与工作相关的附件，例如“Invoice 2026-09-15.iso”、“Statement of Account_54d3.zip”和“Salary Revision.rar”。
诈骗分子会要求受害者在电脑上打开文件，甚至会告诉一些受害者将附件转发给他们的财务经理。
恶意软件将直接下载到 WhatsApp 桌面版或 WhatsApp 网页版用户的电脑中。
警方表示，该恶意软件可以记录和跟踪键盘输入、截取屏幕截图，并与外部命令和控制服务器通信。
在许多情况下，受害者的 WhatsApp 帐户被诈骗分子接管，并被其用来向联系人传播同样的恶意软件。
部分被盗账户还被用来向受害者的联系人索要钱财。
建议公众加强WhatsApp账号的安全性，启用两步验证，并定期检查与WhatsApp账号关联的设备。
他们可以使用 ACT（添加、检查、告知）框架来防范诈骗，该框架包括添加 ScamShield 应用并设置安全功能。
如有疑问，请拨打 ScamShield 热线 1799。
lim.kewei@asiaone.com