CIO bursts WhatsApp extortion web scam

Zimbabwe’s state security agency,
Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) has burst an intricate WhatsApp-based scam through which top government officials and businessmen have been defrauded of late.

 

This comes amid reports that CIO Director-General Fulton Mangwanya was also scammed of R1.5 million – some reports some say R800 000 – by the prawling crooks using gold baron Pedzisayi Scott Sakupwanya’s name, but it turns out that the money was actually used by the intelligence service as a bait in a secret operation to catch the scammers.

 

A source told The NewsHawks: “There is a web of scammers on the prawl who clone some high-profile people’s WhatsApp profiles and then use that to solicit for money or fake business deals to rob unsuspecting victims.

 

Several government officials and businessmen have fallen victim to the scam.

 

It initially appeared as if Mangwanya was scammed of R1.5 million, but checks now show that money was used in an operation to catch the scrammers. It was a bait to catch the crooks. The scam kingpin Desmond Mangena fell for it.”

 

Sources say those who were arrested in a CIO operation included Blessing Vava (not Crisis Coalition director Dr Blessing Vava), Prince James, Solomon Jokonya and Mangena.

 

Acting as if they were Sakupwanya’s runners, the four called Mangwanya and asked him to deposit some money in an account they had provided to facilitate a businsss deal for him, but in the process they fell into a trap and got arrested.

 

The scammers use technology to rob people.

 

Many prominent Zimbabweans have fallen victim to the well-coordinated scam.

 

Unbeknown to victims, the scammers clone people’s WhatsApps and then send messages pretending certain people when they are not.

 

They then solicit for money or fake business deals that some fall for, in the process getting scammed.

 

WhatsApp can be cloned by linking an existing account to a new device or by using built-in “dual” features on smartphones to run two accounts simultaneously.

 

To link devices, install WhatsApp on the secondary phone, choose to “link to an existing account,” and scan the QR code from the primary device’s settings.
For dual accounts on a single device, look for features like “Dual Messenger,” “App Twin,” or “Parallel Apps” in your phone’s settings to create a second, independent WhatsApp instance.

 

Newshawks