Almost all of us have been at the receiving end of incessant WhatsApp calls, texts and videos from anonymous international numbers in the last couple of months. They come from across the world-Indonesia to Vietnam, Malaysia to Kenya—with job offers, money-making opportunities, or lurid invites and compromising videos.

Why have the calls increased so much? Who’s behind them? How are they using WhatsApp business accounts so easily? How big and dangerous is the con? What legal recourse do you and I have? And can WhatsApp afford this menace in its biggest market with a user base of 488 million? 

In this episode of The Morning Brief, host Dia Rekhi unravels the scam by talking to Sachin Taparia, Chairman and Founder at LocalCircles, Kanishk Gaur, Cyber Security Expert and a host of people who have engaged with and fallen prey to the scamsters.

Credits: WhatsApp