Scamsters Get Active To Dupe Govt Employees Ahead of 8th Pay Commission Implementation

As government employees eagerly wait for the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission recommendations, scamsters have become active in the cyber world.

They are trapping government employees by sending WhatsApp messages and text messages, asking them to download APK files that steal users’ mobile data.

According to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), several people have received such messages. This has prompted I4C to issue an alert to citizens, advising them not to fall prey to such messages.

“WhatsApp messages are being sent to government employees in the name of informing them about their salary after the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission,” the centre, which operates under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, said in its post on X (formerly Twitter).

The centre revealed the modus operandi of the scamsters. Users generally receive WhatsApp messages that ask them to download an APK file. Some of these users happen to be government employees and elderly pensioners.

When any user downloads and installs the app using the APK file, scamsters get access to the mobile phone. Thereafter, the device can be used for financial fraud and money transfers.

In the name of checking their salary, scamsters deal a hefty financial blow to users who fall prey to this tactic.

However, the centre also released an elaborate list of dos and don’ts. First of all, it said that the government never sends any kind of APK file on WhatsApp. Also, any information related to the implementation of the 8th Pay Commission or salary should be checked through the official website dedicated for the purpose (https://8cpc.gov.in/).

The centre also advised users not to click on any kind of suspicious links they receive on WhatsApp or text messages. Users can easily identify such fake links. These links usually refer to unknown domain names and carry basic grammatical mistakes.

In case someone gets scammed, they can reach out to the concerned authorities. A complaint can be raised by dialing 1930 or through the cybercrime.gov.in website.