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.
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."
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 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.
Jaishankar says going to Islamabad for multilateral event but not to discuss India-Pakistan relations
India's Minister of External Affairs Jaishankar is set to visit Pakistan for SCO summit this month
IHC CJ asks authorities to allocate designated place to PTI for holding gathering or protest
Interior minister says around 80-85 police officials injured in firing, teargas shelling by participants of rally
ISPR says "six Khwarij" killed during the gun battle in the Spinwam area that took place on night between October 4-5
ISPR says joint IBO took place on the night of October 4 and 5 in Charbagh area of Swat district