By Rahim Abdul
Member of Parliament for Lilongwe Mpenu Constituency, Eisenhower Mkaka, has warned members of the public against responding to messages being sent from his WhatsApp account after it was allegedly compromised by cyber criminals.
Mkaka disclosed the incident through a statement posted on his Facebook page, saying unknown individuals had taken over his WhatsApp account and were using it to send fraudulent messages to people.
According to the legislator, the ordeal began after he received a phone call from a foreign number believed to have originated from Nigeria. The caller reportedly informed him that he had been selected to participate in a special parliamentary training programme.
He said the caller instructed him to provide a verification code that had been sent to his mobile phone, claiming it was required to complete the registration process for the training.
However, shortly after sharing the code, Mkaka realized that he could no longer access his WhatsApp account, indicating that it had been hijacked by the fraudsters.
The hackers are said to have immediately started contacting people using his account, requesting various forms of assistance and other favours while pretending to be the lawmaker.
Mkaka has since appealed to friends, relatives and members of the public to ignore any messages or requests originating from the compromised WhatsApp account.
He further advised people to remain vigilant against online scams, noting that cyber criminals are increasingly using social engineering tactics to trick unsuspecting individuals into surrendering sensitive information.
The incident serves as another reminder of the growing threat posed by cybercrime and the need for mobile phone users to avoid sharing verification codes with unknown callers, regardless of the promises being made.
