Students from Army Public Schools across India are reportedly receiving calls and messages on WhatsApp from Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs). As per reports, Indian Army sources said that students are being asked to join specific social media groups and share sensitive information through calls and messages. This suggests that Pakistani intelligence is making a new spying attempt.
According to reports, the callers or message senders pretend to be school teachers and approach students with requests to join ‘new class groups; while sending them one-time passwords (OTPs).
To gain the students’ trust, they may use references to someone or something familiar to them. Their goal is to make the students believe that it is their actual teachers reaching out to them.
Reports revealed that students are receiving calls and WhatsApp messages from certain mobile phone numbers (8617321715 and 9622262167), allegedly from Pakistani Intelligence Operatives (PIOs). The principals of Army Public Schools have issued an advisory to students and staff about these calls.
The advisory warns that once students join the groups, they may be asked to share sensitive information such as their father’s job, school routine and timings, teachers’ names, and uniform details. The PIOs may use different numbers and tactics to approach the students, so parents are advised to be vigilant about any suspicious calls.
Meanwhile, WhatsApp is also rolling out safety tools when receiving messages from unknown phone numbers. The app will present a new screen the first time the user receives a message from an unknown phone number. With the new safety tools screen, WhatsApp aims to explain what users can do when receiving such messages.
As always, they can block unknown contacts or report them to the moderation team. In addition, WhatsApp also provides users with some information regarding how to stay safe in chat by checking the profile name, the profile photo, and the country code of the phone number.
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