Hampshire Constabulary’s Cyber Crime Team have issued a warning after a 15-year-old girl’s Snapchat account was taken over by hackers.
The criminals have used the victim’s account to send messages to her contacts and friends – encouraging them to harm themselves.
They have then demanded money from the victim so she can regain control of the account.
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Detective Inspector Paul Masters said:
“Although this particular incident affected someone in the Southampton area, this is just one of a series of reports of this same type of fraud being committed throughout Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.
“In this case, the victim has done the right thing by refusing to pay anything and by contacting all her friends to let them know individually to ignore the messages from her Snapchat.
“But we need to alert the general public – in particular young people and their parents – to be on their guard and to follow some simple advice.”
Top tips:
• Be wary of unusual messages on any of your accounts including social media, WhatsApp or email asking for assistance with financial transactions. Even if the message appears to be from someone you know and trust, you should check by calling them or speaking with them in person.
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• Never respond to any requests to send money, or have money transferred through your account, by someone you don’t know and trust ..
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