Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief Ashwini Bhide's WhatsApp account was reportedly compromised on Saturday afternoon, with contacts allegedly receiving requests for money from an account displaying her photograph, as per a report by The Indian Express.
According to a Mumbai Police officer quoted in the report, Bhide received a call on Saturday from a person claiming to have arrived to deliver a parcel. When she said she had not ordered any parcel, the caller asked her to contact a number sent to her through a message for further details, the report said.
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The message reportedly contained a code in the format *21* followed by a mobile number and #. Police said this was an instruction to activate call forwarding from Bhide's phone number to the number controlled by the fraudsters.
Once call forwarding was activated, the accused allegedly logged into Bhide's WhatsApp account from another device. Instead of receiving the verification code through an OTP, they selected the voice-call option. Because Bhide's calls had been diverted, the verification call was reportedly received by the fraudsters, enabling them to activate her WhatsApp account.
After gaining access, the accused allegedly used Bhide's WhatsApp messaging list to send requests for money to her contacts, added the report.
Bhide was alerted to the fraud shortly afterwards and deactivated the call-forwarding feature, following which her WhatsApp account was restored. No FIR had been registered in the matter at the time of the report, it mentioned.
Police said the alleged method is similar to scams previously used against other public figures, including Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC, Marathi actress Vanita Kharat, NCP leader Supriya Sule and BJP leader Sambit Patra.
The incident highlights the risks posed by fraudulent courier calls and call-forwarding scams. Police advise users to avoid entering unfamiliar codes or following instructions from unsolicited callers, particularly when they involve phone settings or verification calls.
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The alleged scam is reportedly part of a wider pattern of fraud originating from areas near the Jharkhand-Bihar border, according to police.
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