WhatsApp scam: Pensioners' information being stolen

In an attempt to steal information, fraudsters are sending forms to government pensioners through WhatsApp in India, claiming that their pensions would be stopped if they did not fill the forms.

The development has come as deadline for submitting the Jeevan Pramaan certificate nears. The certificate has to be submitted annually to the authorised pension disbursing agencies such as bank in November.

Through the popular messaging app, the scammers ask the pensioners to give their personal information in an attempt to defraud them of money.

What is Jeevan Pramaan certificate?

Jeevan Pramaan certificate is a Life Certificate programme for people with pensions. For pensioners to continue receiving their payments, they must have the Jeevan Pramaan certificate. Using this fact, scammers, pretending to be government officials, are sending messages to pensioners threatening that their pension will discontinue unless they update their Jeevan Pramaan certificate or provide personal information via a given link.

A spokesperson for the Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO) said: "These messages are a deliberate attempt to steal personal information and potentially financial resources from unsuspecting pensioners."

How to avoid such scams?

The government stressed that WhatsApp or any other social media platform will never be used for official correspondence related to Jeevan Pramaan certificates. Pensioners are requested to take the following actions upon receiving such a message: Avoid clicking on suspicious links or downloading attachments from it.

Report to police

Report any suspicious messages that you receive right away to the police. You may approach your local police station or forward the message to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) as well.